Lancashire and South Cumbria Diagnostics Collaborative

Graduate Management Trainee Kathryn Ferguson has spent the last eight weeks working with our Endoscopy Network team as part of a flexi placement on the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme.  As her placement comes to an end, she is sharing the work that she has been undertaking: “During my placement, I have managed a project exploring greener Endoscopy - this involved working with our provider trusts to establish our current initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of our endoscopy services, as well as exploring what the next steps are to continue this in the future. “It has been such an enjoyable project and one that I feel is of particular importance given the huge impact that the wider healthcare sector and specifically Endoscopy has on the environment. “It has been brilliant to speak to so many people across the region who are passionate about introducing more sustainable processes in their departments. More information on the work I have done can be found in the latest Lancashire and South Cumbria Diagnostics Collaborative newsletter (link in comments). “Although I am about to move onto my next graduate placement, I know that the endoscopy network plans to continue this work in the future and I look forward to hearing about all the ‘green’ initiatives and ideas that stem from this project. Senior Project Manager for the GI Endoscopy Network, Liz Carr said: “Kathryn has been instrumental in collating the efforts across Lancashire and South Cumbria to make our Endoscopy service greener. In meeting with colleagues who act as Green Champions and visiting our trusts, she has been able to link the theory to the practice and monitor what is happening now, with a view to making the LSC Endoscopy network more effective at supporting that sustainability journey. “We want to say a huge thank you to Kathryn and very much hope to continue her incredible work by initiating a system-level group to support colleagues in making strides in Green Endoscopy. It will be a great way to spread good practice and cascade information from other trusts across the country.”

‘Urgent’ GP blood tests currently provided at Royal Preston Hospital’s blood test clinic have now moved to Healthport Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), Vicarage Lane, Fulwood. The clinic will run from 8.30am – 12.30pm, Monday to Friday. The Healthport is now also offering Non-Obstetric Ultrasound (NOUS) services with some physiological sciences testing planned for later in the week. This has been an extensive piece of work so well done to everyone involved!

A great opportunity!

Today is National Allied Health Professionals (AHPs’) Day – a chance to celebrate all of the 14 AHP professions – including our incredible radiographers. Director Jack Smith has paid special tribute by saying: “Thank you to all of our hard-working and talented AHP Radiographer colleagues working across our hospital and community diagnostic centre locations. On behalf of the LSC Diagnostics Collaborative we are immensely proud of the high quality and compassionate care you provide each and every day to patients.” AHPs make up the third-largest clinical workforce within the health and care sector, playing a crucial role in supporting medical colleagues and patients as part of their healthcare journey and in Lancashire and South Cumbria alone – we have around 580 Radiographers and 140 AHP support workers. In 2023/24 the Diagnostic imaging network also supported the upskilling of 33 AHP colleagues as part of our work to build a sustainable workforce.

Today is World Sight Day and this year the aim is to focus the world’s attention on the importance of eye care- especially in young people and inspiring children everywhere to love their eyes. Senior Ophthalmic and Vision Science Practitioner Hanif Patel has been working as an Ophthalmic and Vision Science practitioner for five years and has shared a bit about his role which involves supporting the clinical team by providing many different and varied diagnostic tests. Senior practitioners can also undertake low-risk monitoring clinics under supervision He said: “On a typical day, amongst many other tests, I could be undertaking scans of the eyes, performing angiography imaging, obtaining measurements of certain aspects of the eyes to get the patient ready for cataract surgery. Also, seeing patients in drug monitoring clinics.” When asked why it is important for people to look after their eyes, especially when young and why should people have regular sight checks he added: “Eyes are precious and we need them to last our lifetime. It's easy when we are young to put off that eye test. However, having regular eye tests can pick up any issues early on and ensure they are treated promptly before it escalates and affects the eyesight significantly. An eye exam can also pick up other health-related issues.” To find out more about World Sight Day go to https://lnkd.in/eNGA4Dz3 To find out more about a role in ophthalmic and vision science go to: https://lnkd.in/eBMCEDsf

Director Jack Smith attended the official opening of the new Community Diagnostics Centre (CDC) at Westmorland General Hospital this week. He said: "It's fantastic to see this high quality community diagnostic facility in Kendal delivered on time and within budget. This CDC adds much needed additional capacity and resilience to our diagnostics collaborative across the region, helping to reduce patient waiting lists and providing state of the art images to inform clinical diagnosis and treatment decisions”.   "This fabulous achievement is testament to the continuing hard work and dedication of the high performing UHMB diagnostic services and management team." He was also delighted to see Lead Radiographer Craig Caswell whose cricket team he coached on the Wirral a few years ago. The new CDC opened its doors to patients last Monday offering CT and MRI scans in a purpose-built permanent structure and one of the first patients to receive a scan in the unit, Valerie Child said: “The new facility is much better than the mobile unit used previously. It is very clean, bright and clinical with pictures on the walls making it very welcoming. “The scanner room also had a lovely picture on the ceiling helping patients to relax.” The new Centre also has the seal of approval from the radiology team. Radiographer Julie Wallbank’s return from maternity leave coincided with the CDCs opening day and said: “It’s like coming back to a brand new job.”

Director Jack Smith attended the official opening of the new Community Diagnostics Centre (CDC) at Westmorland General Hospital this week. He said: "It's fantastic to see this high quality community diagnostic facility in Kendal delivered on time and within budget. This CDC adds much needed additional capacity and resilience to our diagnostics collaborative across the region, helping to reduce patient waiting lists and providing state of the art images to inform clinical diagnosis and treatment decisions”.   "This fabulous achievement is testament to the continuing hard work and dedication of the high performing UHMB diagnostic services and management team." He was also delighted to see Lead Radiographer Craig Caswell whose cricket team he coached on the Wirral a few years ago. The new CDC opened its doors to patients last Monday offering CT and MRI scans in a purpose-built permanent structure and one of the first patients to receive a scan in the unit, Valerie Child said: “The new facility is much better than the mobile unit used previously. It is very clean, bright and clinical with pictures on the walls making it very welcoming. “The scanner room also had a lovely picture on the ceiling helping patients to relax.” The new Centre also has the seal of approval from the radiology team. Radiographer Julie Wallbank’s return from maternity leave coincided with the CDCs opening day and said: “It’s like coming back to a brand new job.”

Our Diagnostic Imaging Workforce Lead, Moira Rawcliffe attended the 10th annual NHS Radiology Summit last week. She said “It was a valuable opportunity to find out the latest updates from the national imaging transformation programme and to be involved in a panel discussion regarding the workforce crisis and solutions whilst delving into retention and recruitment strategies.” The audience also had an opportunity to explore the role of AI in transforming NHS Radiology- current uses, challenges and future directions.

The Clinical Leads for Physiological Science and Healthcare Sciences came together last week as part of forming a Healthcare Sciences Council. The objective of the morning was to develop the vision, mission and aims for Healthcare Science Council moving forward. This included agreeing the membership of the Healthcare Science Council and its roles and responsibilities. Each attendee made some incredible contributions to the discussion and our Physiological Sciences and Healthcare Science Network team is now planning the next steps for the Council.

The brand-new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at Westmorland General Hospital has opened today. This is the latest phase in a series of implementation work creating a permanent, purpose-built structure which will deliver MRI and CT services that have up until now been provided from mobile units. Work on the new structure began in July 2023 and is expected to carry out an additional 11,935 tests annually. We thank everyone involved in this project, from the Capital Services team – who have been critical in completing this work, to contractors and the teams who have helped develop and shape what the new centre looks like and worked tirelessly to achieve its completion. There are now eight CDCs across Lancashire and South Cumbria that have been set up to enable Trusts to offer thousands more diagnostic tests and scans, helping to cut waiting lists and support earlier diagnosis. The new centres add to the amount of diagnostic tests available making it quicker and easier for patients to access potentially life-saving tests for a wide range of conditions.