Radiography Awards 2024: the winners

The Radiography Professional of the Year award aims to recognise a remarkable individual’s contribution to our profession. They are committed to delivering outstanding patient care and have made a positive impact on service delivery and teams.

As a trailblazer in the early days of CT and MRI, Helen was among the first radiographers to perform patient cannulation, paving the way for enhanced patient care and procedural efficiency. Known for her innovative and adaptable approach, she has championed advancements throughout her career, culminating in her role as head of professions at University Hospital Southampton. 

Helen initiated training for radiology support workers in cannulation to optimise capacity and elevate patient care. She also developed streamlined, same-day MRI pathways for outpatient appointments, accelerating cancer diagnoses and minimising patient disruption.

This award celebrates a stand-out team that uses innovative practices to improve service delivery or radiography education. They demonstrate exceptional multi-professional collaboration and are committed to delivering outstanding patient care. 

The South West Radiotherapy Late Effects Service is a collaboration of eight Therapeutic Radiographers and a regional navigator from seven radiotherapy departments in the South West. The service was established in August 2022 with funding from Macmillan and the SWAG Cancer Alliance to provide symptom support for people following radiotherapy treatment. 

The service has worked to build new clinics, pathways and services for patients to improve equity of care across the region. It has had more than 1,000 referrals from all cancer diagnoses since its founding. 

This award recognises a student or apprentice who has demonstrated passion for our profession. They have excelled academically and clinically, delivered high levels of patient care and have contributed positively to the student cohort, working environment and/or wider radiography community.

Tara is a Therapeutic Radiographer at East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust. Tara recently qualified after three years study at the University of Suffolk, training clinically at East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust. 

She has also been volunteering behind the scenes with Rad Chat for the past three years, helping with their socials, proof listening to episodes and researching future guests and topics. While training she built a great relationship with fellow radiography colleagues and patients, reached 100 per cent attendance in clinical hours and received a first class degree.

Tara said: “It’s been amazing to be invited here. It’s nice to come and celebrate that and see all the amazing work radiographers are doing across the country. To be nominated is a big honour, so I’m very grateful.

“Keep motivating people. I know the job can be really tough, so it is nice to be recognised for the work that’s done across the country collectively and also for the future generation of students, as well to see what this hard work can lead to.”

This a student nominated award, which honours an educator who is committed to improving the learning experiences of students and/or radiography apprentices. They promote inclusive learning environments, use innovative teaching methods and inspire their students.

Alex is director of clinical skills and simulation at the University of Nottingham and has worked in radiography higher education for more than 13 years. She has undertaken various roles, such as clinical link tutor, admissions tutor and programme leader. Alex has worked tirelessly to support students and promote opportunities to them. 

Having been elected to the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS) Educational Wing, she has organised and chaired the EFRS student seminar day, simulation webinars and sessions at the European Congress of Radiology. 

She has participated in many external roles such as Diagnostic Imaging Advisory Group member, deputy chair of Heads of Radiography Educators, College of Radiographers assessor, CORU assessor, International Advisory Board member and reviewer for Radiography Journal.  

Naman led a national survey to understand the confidence levels of Therapeutic Radiographers assessing skin reactions, finding that they were more than 30 per cent less confident in assessing people of colour. 

This has led to national change in departments to improve training and understanding of reactions across all skin tones. With this, diagnostic radiography guidelines on contrast reactions have been updated in departments across the UK to include terminology for people of colour. 

Naman said: “It’s my second time at the awards ceremony. It’s really nice to see Therapeutic and Diagnostic Radiographers being promoted and acknowledged for everything they’ve done over the past year.

“The NHS is not just doctors and nurses, there are people like us, tens of thousands of radiographers, diagnostic and therapeutic. It’s really important we are advertised, we’re out there, people know about us. 

“These awards are really good because they recognise the different regions across the UK – who’s doing well, what’s going on and just networking, which is really nice.”

The team has developed an innovative module on patient-centred care in radiography, engaging more than 30 educators and service users to provide students with authentic, diverse perspectives on essential topics such as communication, neurodivergence and wellbeing. 

Through immersive techniques such as simulation, virtual reality, storytelling and live class debates, students are encouraged to reflect deeply on patient needs and adopt new, empathetic practices – leading more than 70 per cent to report positive changes in their clinical approach. This interdisciplinary, collaborative effort has enriched radiography education, fostering greater empathy and practical skills for improving patient care.

Radiography Professional of the Year

Rose is the second consultant radiographer in nuclear medicine within the UK. She graduated from the University of Suffolk in 2015 and began working at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. She became a senior radiographer in 2017 and nuclear medicine service manager in 2021. 

Rose completed a MSc in nuclear medicine at King’s College London (2015-18), a PGDip in advanced practice at UWE (2021-23) and a PGCert in leadership and management (2023-24). She has recently been accepted to study for a MPhil in medical science (radiology) at St Edmunds College, University of Cambridge.

Jacob is SABR and motion management radiographer at Lincoln County Hospital. His primary role in the department is as a specialist in image-guided radiotherapy and as part of that role he manages the imaging and surface guided needs of complex patients. Most recently he has led the implementation of head and neck SGRT with open masks, which he hopes is making the treatment more comfortable for head and neck patients.

Naman is an advanced practice Therapeutic Radiographer currently working as a research radiographer at Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research, London. He is also the only allied health professional (AHP) clinical adviser for the Macmillan Cancer Support charity in the UK. Naman also co-founded international award-winning oncology podcast Rad Chat, and is an ambassador for charity Radiotherapy UK, advocating for greater investment in radiotherapy.

Jodie has been a Diagnostic Radiographer since 2012, after graduating from Queen Margaret University. Early in her career, she specialised in oncology imaging, working at The Christie in Manchester before moving to The Royal Marsden in London, where she currently serves as the superintendent for interventional radiology and X-ray. Jodie and the interventional radiology team have utilised a collaborative approach within the trust to implement new techniques and optimisation projects. Their most recent service improvement is the introduction of CT hepatic angiography for liver ablation to further enhance procedural imaging.

Diane is specialist radiographer in the nuclear medicine department at the South Tyneside and Sunderland Foundation Trust, based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead. She has worked in nuclear medicine for more than 30 years. Diane has been key in introducing many new techniques within this role, including GFR non-imaging tests, sentinel lymph node biopsy injections pre-surgery, Octreotide, DaTscan™ and SeHCAT™ imaging. 

She has also been a mentor for new staff members who have entered nuclear medicine with various backgrounds – from BSc candidates who have no hospital experience, to qualified radiographers who then trained on site while undertaking a PGC in nuclear medicine.

Chloe is an advanced practitioner reporting radiographer at NHS Golden Jubilee in Clydebank, Scotland. Chloe qualified in 2019 from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) with a BSc in diagnostic imaging. Following graduation, she worked at a major trauma site within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde for three years as a Band 5 radiographer, during which time she developed a keen interest in plain film reporting and MRI. She moved to NHS Golden Jubilee in June 2022 to begin her first Band 6 rotational radiographer post. Soon after, the rare and competitive opportunity to train as an MSK reporting radiographer arose and she returned to GCU to obtain her PGCert. She is due to return to education in January 2025 to begin a PGDip at Birmingham City University.

Rosie has worked as a Diagnostic Radiographer for nearly 20 years at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton. After 10 years of interventional radiography Rosie found her passion in DEXA and bone health, and is now lead reporting DEXA radiographer for Taunton, as well as working as a fracture liaison practitioner in the fracture prevention service. She is committed to improving osteoporosis and DEXA services to ensure gold standard care locally and hopes to spread awareness of the importance of fracture prevention on a wider scale.

Patricia is a retired radiotherapy services manager at the North Wales Cancer Treatment Centre. She trained as a Therapeutic Radiographer at The Christie Hospital, Manchester, and after qualifying in 1984 she remained at The Christie until 1999, where she progressed through the grades from radiographer grade to treatment superintendent. In 1999 she left The Christie to help to set up the new North Wales Cancer Treatment Centre in Glan Clwyd Hospital. Patricia retired in July 2024 after almost 40 years as a Therapeutic Radiographer.

Radiography Team of the Year

The nuclear medicine radiographers at the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board have witnessed drastic change in the past two years. Because of the sudden closure of a supplier, the team had to learn new skills in how to draw up radioactive injections from vials in an aseptic and radiation protected way. During this stressful time all in the nuclear medicine team took this in their stride, including new training and vast amounts of paperwork.

The Northern Ireland QSI team was established in 2017 as a regional collaborative to drive implementation of QSI in imaging services across Northern Ireland. The value-driven team has a deep sense of purpose and responsibility to create an environment to influence positive change. This has enabled the team to lead in the delivery of best practice for patients undergoing diagnostic and interventional imaging across NI. 

The CT team at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (south sites) works across six CT scanners at two hospitals. The team was nominated for being one of the highest-performing units in the country, with use of data insights and radiographer training supporting this. In the year 2023-24, just over 50,000 CT examinations were performed. The newly formed Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of more than 600,000 with a workforce of 9,000-plus dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites. 

The Heartlands, Solihull and Good Hope Hospitals MRI team is spread across three hospitals with a total of nine MRI scanners on three hospitals and an offsite CDC unit with one scanner. Together they managed demand of around 100,000 in the last calendar year. Recently the MRI imaging departments successfully merged radiology information systems and PACS with shared electronic protocols, allowing patients to be seamlessly vetted and scanned at different hospitals and departments, maximising available capacity. 

The radiotherapy team at the ULTH Lincoln NHS Trust is made up of a variety of disciplines including radiographers, dosimetrists, physicists, admin and assistants. The team works tirelessly to ensure that the patients receive the most advanced and innovative treatments while ensuring a high standard of patient care. They also ensure that all patients irrelevant of stage of treatment are treated with the patient at the centre of the journey. ULTH is also the first trust in the country to implement open-mask treatment with surface guided radiotherapy for all head and neck treatments, improving the patient experience. It is now part of an exclusive group of tattoo and mark free centres around the world. 

The MRI team at The Royal Marsden Hospital is a core team of MRI radiographers providing imaging to oncology patients. As well as undertaking the imaging and providing a high level of care, it also participates in research imaging, either led by the department itself or for the wider oncology teams. The team works closely with their physics colleagues to help develop new MRI sequences, striving to improve quality and reduce scan times. The MRI team is a close working team that provides outstanding patient care despite any other issues going on within the department, hospital or even profession. 

The Northern Centre for Cancer Care Pre-Treatment team is composed of Therapeutic Radiographers with vastly differing experiences and ages, from newly qualified to more than 30 years experience. Normally the team consists of around 17, but with staff shortages recently the team is now made up of only 14, who run two CT scanners, an MRI scanner and a palliative planning section. To work in the team you need to be highly adaptable to move between varying equipment and software. The team works at the centre of a wider multi-disciplinary team that consists of clinical oncologists, physicists, dosimetrists, mould room technologists and treatment radiographers.

The Scottish Academy of Breast Imaging (SABI) clinical training team is made up of eight mammographers who are based in either the Glasgow or Edinburgh Breast Screening Centres. Half of their role involves SABI duties and the other half is focused on clinical mammographic duties. SABI also has an administrator who is fundamental to its success. The team has existed for more than 20 years and continually evolves to support an ever-changing Breast Imaging Service across Scotland, the rest of the UK and Ireland. Their SABI role focuses mainly on the education and training of mammographers and assistant practitioner mammographers, ensuring individuals develop to become safe and competent practitioners.

The Kent Oncology Centre opened in 1993 and consists of one centre on two sites. The radiography team comprises Therapeutic Radiographers from Band 5 through to Band 8 working at both Maidstone and Canterbury sites, and has a very diverse workforce, embracing many cultures and nationalities. The last year has been particularly challenging but the trust was able to move from being one of the worst-performing trusts for cancer performance to one of the best.

The CT Colonography team based within North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (NWAFT) have been pioneers in the field of CT Colonography since long before they were even known as NWAFT, previously part of Peterborough and Stamford NHS Trust. 

The team were among the first to incorporate radiographer reporting of CT Colonography into their service and helped establish and deliver a PGC programme with the University of Suffolk in CT colonography reporting.  

Over the past year, the team has reduced the average waiting time for performing CT colonography from 16 days to eight days and has also managed to continue to review the intracolonic findings of the majority of cases on the same day as the examination with the extra-colonic review normally provided by a general radiologist the following day. All this has been achieved whilst maintaining the exemplary service that has seen them recognised as one of the first five national centres of excellence by the National CTC Academy

Radiography Learner of the Year

Frances is an apprentice radiographer at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. She has worked for the NHS since 2012 after being made redundant from a job in recruitment. Her first role was an HCA on a surgical ward and from there she progressed to a radiology department assistant in 2013. In 2019, Frances decided she needed a challenge and applied for a trainee mammography assistant practitioner role, qualifying in 2021. In 2023, realising how much she missed her old department, she applied for an apprentice radiographer role and began her adventures at the University of Exeter.

Ellie is a Band 5 radiographer at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, having recently earned her degree from Ulster University, a journey with academic and athletic commitments. Throughout her studies, she balanced heavy workloads with training for the Ireland U21 and U23 women’s hockey teams. Unfortunately, she faced a significant setback when she sustained a hip fracture, resulting in the loss of several weeks of clinical placement. Despite the challenges she showed resilience, perseverance and commitment to her career and she is now proud to hold a permanent position as a radiographer in the Belfast Trust and is set to graduate in December with first-class honours.

Harrison is a Diagnostic Radiographer at St George’s University of London. As part of his final-year thesis, he conducted a practical experiment based on Lança’s 10 kVp rule, drawing on his previous experience working in biomedical labs at Richmond College. The experiment focused on reducing patient radiation dose by incrementally increasing kVp. Beyond clinical work, Harrison has been involved in projects aimed at improving healthcare delivery. His deaf awareness project, ‘Deaf Not Death’, focused on making healthcare more accessible for the deaf community. 

Shibamba is a Band 5 radiographer at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. On winning this award, Shibamba said: “I have always wanted to make an impact in some way, shape or form. Whether that is through the things I do or through people I have interacted with and continue to interact with. And winning this award has helped me realise this goal.” Shibamba’s father suffered from cancer during his final year of education and unfortunately passed away before he could see him graduate. Shibamba has dedicated this award to his father.

Abi has been part of the apprenticeship in Musgrove Park Hospital and University Hospital Southampton after changing courses because of spinal surgery. Previously she has worked as a personal assistant in corporate and superyacht design industries, so working in healthcare is very different but she said it is where she feels most at home. She added that apprenticeships are an excellent way to learn clinical practice and change careers into healthcare.

Poppy is a third-year medical imaging student at the University of Exeter, recognised for her commitment to student support, leadership and research. She advocates for her peers at university as the department officer for diagnostic radiography programmes and earned the university’s Citizenship Prize in 2022-23. She was recently selected for the 2024-25 cohort of #150Leaders programme with the Council of Deans of Health, and continues to develop her leadership alongside her role at the South West Learner Council.

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