Academy aiming to relieve radiology staffing shortfall
Radiology services are being put under immense pressure by rising patient demand and staffing problems. But an innovative academy dedicated to training new imaging professionals has the potential to ease the burden on the NHS...
The imaging workforce in Wales and the rest of the UK is currently experiencing a significant staffing shortfall.
According to experts in the field there is a growing gap between rising patient demand and expectations of imaging services.
And as a result of technological advances, an increased number of patients are being scanned to aid diagnosis and treatment.
To address this shortfall, the National Imaging Academy Wales opened earlier this year to train up the next generation of radiologists, radiographers, sonographers and imaging professionals.
The site, at Pencoed Business Park, was made possible thanks to a £3.4m funding injection from the Welsh Government.
Radiology provides scanning and interpretation of diagnostic imaging such as X-Rays, CTs and MRI.
And with around 40,000 patients referred for radiology every month in Wales – compared with about 24,000 a decade ago – the radiologist profession is at the heart of patient diagnosis.
Dr Sian Phillips is a consultant radiologist and head of School for Radiology (HEIW) responsible for overseeing imaging training in Wales.
She said: “Capacity and demand has mismatched for many years and advances in technology has meant that the time to interpret scans has grown significantly.
“For instance, if you think about CT scans, 20 years ago there were 100 images of the body, if you look at it now it can be up to 5,000 images –
all there to be analysed.
“We’re scanning more people, more frequently, so we need far more people to get a more accurate diagnosis
“We can just about scan most patients within four to eight weeks but there is a challenge to meet those diagnostic targets to report those scans.
“It clogs up the system because delivery of modern healthcare pivots around what the scan shows.”
The National Imaging Academy Wales is working to bridge the gap and its establishment means that there is now the potential to more than double training places in Wales.
It means the total number of radiologist trainees across Wales could rise from 43 in 2015 to 112 in 2025.
The first 14 trainees started their five-year training at the academy in August and now split their time between the facility and hospitals.
Providing a modern, innovative, specialist training environment, the academy promises to enhance the learning experience of trainees in partnership with current training provision at hospital sites throughout south Wales.
Within its purpose-designed workstation training rooms, simulation suite and lecture theatre, the academy helps deliver the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) curriculum in a dedicated and supportive multi-professional training environment.
Consultant radiologists, healthcare scientists and allied health professionals from across Wales provide seminars and supervision for trainees on imaging studies, including the interpretation of X-rays, CT and MR scans.
The academy is also a focal point for research and innovation and create a leading-edge collaborative environment for academia, industry