Abstracts

The Rise of the Machines

Nicky Whilde

Head of Radiotherapy Physics, Vice Chair of Radiotherapy Board

Mid and South Essex Foundation Hospital Trust

Radiotherapy has always embraced new forms of technology, Big data, machine learning and AI as an umbrella term are here. What is the current research, future direction and what do we need to know as a professional group to support both ourselves and patients navigating radiotherapy services going forward.

Attendees should:

• Develop an up to date awareness of the ongoing research and future direction of research across the radiotherapy technology sphere
• Share learning with peers
• Identify and consider ways to get involved with current research
• Develop action plans for individual/departmental activity relating to the areas explored through proffered papers

The Power of Clinical Governance in Healthcare

Cristíona Logan

Specialist Clinical Officer for Radiotherapy

UK Health Security Agency

Continuously improving the quality of services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which clinical excellence can flourish. Effective clinical governance contributes to the safety and quality of patient care.

Attendees should:

• Self-appraise their own/departmental practices
• Identify areas for improve/suggested approaches
• Share learning with peers
• Develop action plans for individual/departmental activity relating to areas explored through proffered papers

Marvels: Unleashing the Potential of Clinical Advancements

Zankhana Jani

Digital Lead Radiographer

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

Clinical advancements play a critical role in improving the quality of healthcare and patient outcomes. They help to optimize existing treatments and also drive greater efficiency and precision by incorporating the latest research, technologies.

Attendees should:

• Gain new and up to date knowledge of clinical advances in radiotherapy
• Appraise their local practice to consider application of advances presented in this session
• Identify further research/trial opportunities to apply to practice

The Patient/Carer Voice: How loud is it?

Dr Rachel Harris

Head of Professional Practice and Education

The Society and College of Radiographers

The patient/carer voice can be a powerful driver of service improvement and lead to interventions that are tailored to their needs and preferences.

Attendees should:

• Explore how within their role/department they could further improve engagement with carers/patients but how to do this in a meaningful and non-tokenistic way
• Recognise opportunities to utilise the rich feedback from carers/patients to enhance practice
• Evaluate their own practice for where they could engage in patient/carer improvements
• Develop ideas for future research or service improvement projects with the carer/patient at the centre

Empowering Individuals through Workforce Development

Melanie Clarkson

Senior Lecturer

Sheffield Hallam University

Workforce development is crucial for the success and growth of any organization. Policy documents to assess the an increase in the support workforce along with enhanced, advanced and consultant levels of practice.

Attendees should:

• Be appraised of current policy and practice in workforce development
• Be equipped with learnings from practical examples and experiences to consider on return to their own practice

Caring For Our Professionals: Wellbeing Underpinning Service Delivery

Suzanne Jordan

Head of Radiotherapy

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

The number of patients being referred for radiotherapy continues to increase, meaning that the

benefits of hypofractionation schedules on demand are temporary.

It could be argued that creating more time for Therapeutic Radiographers to deliver personalised care

is key to not only retention but the psychosocial well-being of staff. How do we achieve that ?

Attendees should:

• Self-appraise their personal/departmental/organisation strategies for wellbeing and action plan for future improvements
• Reflect and share good practice examples for wellbeing locally
• Identify strategies to support peers with wellbeing through the introduction of local initiatives

The Impact of Radiotherapy: Examining Late Effects

Dr Lisa Durrant

Macmillan Consultant Therapeutic Radiographer for Late Effects

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

This session focuses on late effects Radiotherapy is an integral component of modern cancer care with 4 out of 10 people cured of cancer receiving radiotherapy treatment. Half of those diagnosed with cancer will live for at least 10 years, however 1 in 4 will have enduring physical or psychosocial effects of their cancer or its treatment.

Attendees should:

• Share practical examples of learning from the introduction of prehabilitation/rehabilitation services locally
• Gain understanding of the up to date evidence base for prehabilitation and rehabilitation to share with peers
• Consider service evaluation and improvement opportunities relating to prehabilitation and rehabilitation
• Consider audit and research opportunities relating to prehabilitation and rehabilitation

Getting Ahead in Radiotherapy: Operational and Strategic Leadership

Tom Welton

Lead Practice Educator Radiology

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals

Leadership applies to all levels of practice - how are we engaging with this and what else could

be implemented? Strong SoR work on this.

Attendees should:

• Recognise their own contributions as a leader – regardless of experience/grade/level/role and be empowered to self-appraise
• Be inspired to consider their own leadership journey and develop a practical action plan
• Be empowered to support the leadership journey of others, with practical tools to enable this
• Recognise and value the breadth of leadership career opportunities
• Utilise the CoR education and careers framework to inspire and support future leadership careers

Recruitment & Retention Strategies

Clare Hutton

Radiotherapy Manager

Hull University Teaching Hospitals

Staff shortages are impacting on the ability of departments to utilise all available planning and treatment equipment capacity. This affects both the timeliness of delivering patient care, patient experience and the morale of those staff currently in post. Overview and exploration of recruitment and retention strategies.

Attendees should:

• Self-appraise their departmental/organisation strategies for student and staff recruitment and retention
• Gain new insights and knowledge relating to recruitment and retention strategies and share good practice examples locally