Radiography Awards:
Overall Winners

Overall Team of the Year
& Team Patient's Choice Award

Cardiac CT Radiographers - NHS Western Isles (Scotland)
The Cardiac CT service commenced with their unique radiographer- and nurse-led service in 2019. Starting off with two radiographers, the service has now grown and has four enthusiastic and dedicated radiographers trained and providing this innovative and effective service to the population of the Western Isles.

Being a small, goal-oriented team has allowed them to work closely with other professions, both locally and across Scotland, to ensure a truly patient-centred service.

The Patient's Choice Awards are selected by the Patient Advisory Group

Overall Radiography
Professional of the Year

Lucy Buckley, nominee for the North West
Lucy is a therapeutic radiographer with over 15 years of clinical experience. She began her post as a colorectal specialist radiographer in 2010 and gained her Masters in Advanced Practice. Lucy then built on this, bringing others with her, and over a period of professional time and personal investment she progressed to a consultant practitioner status.

Lucy has made significant contributions to our profession, including being the first radiographer to prescribe blood transfusions. Lucy has led education frameworks and has also developed patient group directives to improve workflow, cost efficiencies and patient experience. She organised an advanced clinical practitioner/ consultant practitioner oncology event for our region, leading nursing, and allied health professional teams to develop and value opportunities.

Overall Accredited SoR
Representative of the Year

Zoe Hunt, nominee for the Midlands
Zoe qualified as a radiographer in 2007 and works at Worcestershire Acute Trust, which has supported her to become a senior radiographer and then a sonographer. She has been an industrial relations representative since 2016. Having worked across most modalities in radiography during her career, it has given her a good oversight of the various problems that her colleagues encounter, and how she is able to support them through changes and negotiations. She is proud of the changes that she has made during her time as an industrial relations representative - she said all her colleagues are amazing and deserve the best support that she can possibly give to them, and she feels honoured that they have nominated her for this award. 

She now works part time for the trust as she works as a senior lecturer in medical ultrasound at Birmingham City University for the remainder of the week, using her knowledge from her industrial relations training to ensure that the students are fully aware of what issues they may encounter during their careers and how to deal with any problems that may arise. 

Diagnostic Imaging Student
Radiographer of the Year

Samantha Pilkington - University of the West of England
Sam is a final year student diagnostic radiographer at UWE Bristol. Sam entered the profession as a mature student, with a background in education and public engagement. Sam adores her patients and holds her radiography work to a very high standard. She has carried out multiple projects with the Institute of Physics this year to promote radiography and medical physics, as well as collaborating on a BBC New Tech Economy article.

She hopes that wherever she works, there will be plentiful opportunities to mentor students and engage with the welfare of new students and staff. Sam won a Peer Learning award for her contributions to UWE's Peer Mentoring scheme and delivered a talk at the International Peer Learning Forum on promoting holistic learning approaches in pre-clinical learning.

Outside of professional commitments, Sam enjoys playing piano, reading and hiking around the Welsh countryside with her partner James. Sam said she is immensely grateful to have been selected for this prestigious award and intends to continue representing SoR and the radiography profession positively throughout her career.

Therapeutic Student
Radiographer of the Year

Raymond Amoako Bempah, Sheffield Hallam University
Raymond is a resilient individual who has overcome numerous challenges to achieve results. Despite struggling academically, he possesses an unwavering determination to excel and consistently push himself to go above and beyond. 

In his first year of university, he found himself facing immense self-doubt and fear, leading to a loss of confidence that almost resulted in him dropping out from the university. However, everything changed when he was challenged to come out of his comfort zone and be involved in the 150 Leadership Programme, which reignited his passion and belief in himself. 

Recognising his potential, he seized the opportunity to become the AHP department representative at Sheffield Hallam University, a role that further enhanced his leadership skills and instilled a sense of purpose. This opened many opportunities and has given him much confidence to undertake projects such as exploring students' confidence in assessing the impact of radiation-induced skin reaction on coloured skin tones.

Through his journey, he has exemplified resilience, perseverance, and a commitment to personal growth. His story is inspiring, demonstrating that setbacks can be turned into stepping stones toward greater achievements.

Individual Patient's Choice Award

Sean O’Conaire, nominee for Northern Ireland
Sean is the imaging service manager and sites co-ordinator in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, the largest integrated trust in the UK.  

Sean hails from Spiddal, a small village in the Irish-speaking area of Connemara in County Galway, and has since traded the west coast of Ireland for the north coast, and now resides with his wife Maria and three children in Portrush, near the Giant’s Causeway. 

Sean took up his current position at the trust in 2015, and since then he has influenced, developed and delivered imaging services to meet the growing needs of the population of Belfast and Northern Ireland. He is passionate about improving the quality of care offered to patients: this is reinforced by his qualification from the Scottish Improvement Leadership programme.  

When not navigating and developing the imaging service, Sean loves spending time doing crossfit or spending time with his family enjoying outdoor and water-based activities.

The Patient's Choice Awards are selected by the Patient Advisory Group