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‘Pioneering’ Somerset Trust scoops patient experience award
Helen McLean (left) and Steve Savage
Helen McLean (left) and Steve Savage
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded the Patient/Carer Experience award of the Somerset FT Allied Health Professions Festival Day for its paracentesis service.
Led by consultant sonographer clinical service lead Steven Savage and consultant sonographer Helen McLean, the outpatient palliative ultrasound interventional service includes abdominal ascitic (paracentesis) drainage and its pleural effusion aspiration service.
The pair won the Patient/Carer Experience award for their care, compassion, flexibility and forward thinking to provide the domiciliary ultrasound service in Somerset, the citation explained.
Helen and Steven were described as “lynchpins” in offering and coordinating this service, which involves a collaborative multidisciplinary approach with the palliative and community teams, along with patients and their families.
This service has now expanded to include domiciliary paracentesis, where the abdominal drain is performed in the patient’s home.
They said they believed this to be a “first, as far as we are aware” in the country.
Therapeutic Radiographer honoured for research excellence
Dr Lisa Ashmore and Dr Luigi Sedda at the awards ceremony
Dr Lisa Ashmore and Dr Luigi Sedda at the awards ceremony
A Therapeutic Radiographer from Lancaster Medical School has been honoured by North West Cancer Research (NWCR) for her dedication to research excellence.
At a gala ceremony held by the cancer charity at the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool, clinical academic Therapeutic Radiographer Dr Lisa Ashmore received a Research Advocate award for her work at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
This award recognises those who support the development of research capacity and capability in radiotherapy in the north west.
Lisa said: “Therapeutic Radiographers have so much to offer that can significantly impact patient care and outcomes. The teams are enthusiastic and highly skilled and deserve more visibility and funding for time to meet their research potential. I am committed to championing that.”
The NWCR event celebrates the dedication of the charity’s supporters and pays tribute to excellence in research across the north west and North Wales.
Radiographer completes 920-mile charity bike ride
Lucy Ratcliff
Lucy Ratcliff
A Band 5 radiographer at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has completed a 10-day, 920-mile bike ride to raise money to improve waiting rooms.
Lucy Ratcliff is a newly qualified Band 5 radiographer who also studied at the Royal Devon as an undergraduate student.
On 3 October, she began to cycle from John O’Groats in Scotland to Land’s End in Cornwall, an approximately 920-mile trip, over the course of 10 days, completely unsupported.
Lucy has so far raised £2,347 towards making improvements to waiting rooms in the medical imaging department to make them more child friendly.
Elizabeth Clark, lead paediatric radiographer at the Royal Devon in Exeter, explained that the purpose of the project was to ensure the medical imaging waiting areas had paediatric provisions – “where we currently have none”.
“The department has pulled together amazingly to help fundraise for this important project and, in addition to Lucy’s brilliant effort, we have had people skydiving, doing bake sales – one even ran 45 miles in just one day.”
‘Tireless’ efforts help radiographer return to work
Sally Smith and Joy Cole
Sally Smith and Joy Cole
Joy Cole, a therapeutic research radiographer from James Cook University Hospital, has shared her cancer treatment journey and subsequent return to work following “tireless” efforts from the hospital team.
In October 2022, Joy noticed a swelling on her thigh, and was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called sarcoma, originating from soft tissue or bone.
She was referred to the regional sarcoma specialists at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, where she started her cancer treatment and underwent chemotherapy from January 2023.
At the end of her first 10 weeks of chemotherapy, Joy’s consultant told her that her left leg needed to be amputated because of the extent of the tumour.
But with the help and guidance of Sally Smith, senior specialist physiotherapist in prosthetic rehabilitation, the recovery process began.
After months of walking training sessions with a prosthesis, Joy returned to work as a radiotherapy research radiographer in September 2024, where she currently coordinates clinical trials involving radiotherapy.
Naman Julka-Anderson lands four awards
Naman Julka-Anderson with his awards
Naman Julka-Anderson with his awards
Therapeutic Radiographer Naman Julka-Anderson has been recognised for his work to address health inequalities in the Radiography Awards and the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Awards (CAHPO). He has also received the CoR Patient Choice Award at the Radiography Awards, selected by the Patient Advisory Group.
At the 2024 Chief Alied Health Professions Awards, held in October, Naman took home the AHS Leadership for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion award alongside the CAHPO Award 2024. He is the first Therapeutic Radiographer to receive the CAHPO Award.
At the SoR's 2024 Radiography Awards, Naman named Radiographer of the Year for the London Region by the SoR and also took home the patient choice award.
Naman has been working for more than two years to improve the treatment of radiation-induced skin reactions. He said: “Tackling inequality should be at the heart of our profession. People of colour have always been around, so just bringing us to the forefront of people’s mind can remind them that white skin isn’t the norm. You have to be able to assess anyone who comes in the door.”
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Image credits:
Somerset NHS FT
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
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