The winners of the prestigious Radiography Awards 2024 have been revealed, with the stand-out teams and individuals set to be celebrated in November.
Every year, the awards celebrates the teams, individuals and students from across the UK who have made a positive difference to patient care, service delivery, or who have excelled academically.
This year, the awards include not only Professional and Team of the Year, but Learner of the Year and Educator of the Year, offering opportunities to recognise the achievements of students, apprentices and educators improving the learning experience.
Professional of the Year
Radiography Professional of the Year award recognises an individual’s remarkable contribution to improving patient care, service delivery or raising the profile of our role in healthcare.
This year’s winners are:
- Eastern Region: Rose Hazell-Evans - for achievement of consultant status at the age of 29, the introduction of DaT scanning for Parkinson’s disease, and excellent team leadership.
- Yorkshire and Trent: Jacob Curran - for “tireless” work to introduce open face masks and surface guided radiotherapy and standardisation for patients.
- London: Jodie Basso - for her introduction of new ablative therapy techniques, streamlining of patient pathways and excellent communication skills.
- London: Naman Julka-Anderson - for groundbreaking work to fight inquiry in radiotherapy practice for skin reactions, and dedication to progressing the profession.
- Northern: Diane Bewick - for effort to train staff and improve patient satisfactions, enhance efficiency and lead service audits.
- Scotland: Chloe Peace - for ensuring excellent imaging quality and smoothing the patient pathways, as well as improvement of the student experience.
- South East: Helen Reid - for her “trailblazing” work in developing protocols and pathways for cannulation, inspirational leadership, and leadership on MRI workflow improvement.
- South West: Rosemary James - for promotion and driving of the DEXA service and bridging the gap between referral.
- Wales: Patricia Evans - for support of colleagues in North Wales despite lacking resources and staff shortages, and her work to develop radiotherapy services across Wales.
Learner of the Year
This award recognises a student or apprentice who has demonstrated passion for the radiography profession. They have excelled academically and clinically, delivered high levels of patient care, and have contributed positively to the student cohort, working environment and wider radiography community.
This year’s winners are:
- Eastern Region: Tara Smith - for her excellent academic achievement, her integral work on the Rad Chat podcast in aspects of content creation, and her research on plastic use in radiotherapy departments.
- London: Harrison Ahmad - for his work running multiple societies, his research on workforce insufficiency, and his dedication to continuous learning.
- Midlands: Frances Cottingham - for her excellent ambassadorship for the profession, regular support for other undergraduates, and active participation in peer study sessions.
- North West: Diane Partington - for her efforts to go above and beyond in both studies and her support for other learners, both on clinical placement and everyday university life.
- Northern Ireland: Ellie Stewart - for outstanding ability in the face of change, absolute professionalism, and contribution to showcasing imaging and patient pathways.
- Scotland: Shibamba Kazhikamaila - for his persistent dedication and optimism following personal bereavement and his compassion for patients.
- South West: Poppy Ulett - For her work on the South West Learner Council, the #150Leaders programme, her student internship and her dedication to research.
- South West: Abi Smith - for her determination despite personal setbacks, devotion to her studies, and her contributions to the student cohort.
Radiography Team of the Year
Teams who have used innovative practices to improve service delivery or radiography education, or demonstrated exceptional multi-professional collaboration and are committed to delivering outstanding patient care, can receive the Team of the Year Award.
This year’s winners include:
- Eastern Region: CT Colonography team, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust - for successful implementation of change in CT Colonography despite significant challenges during Covid.
- London: MRI Radiographers Chelsea, Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust - for their research in MRI safety and efficiency, reducing scan times while improving accuracy, and development of protocols for AI software
- Midlands: MRI department, Heartlands Hospital - for their work to reduce waiting lists from 20,000 to 5,000, their massive international recruitment drive, and successful opening of a new treatment centre imaging department
- North West: CT Team, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust - for achievement of status of one of the highest performing units in the country, with use of data insights and radiographer training supporting this.
- Northern Ireland: QSI Lead Radiographers - for their statue as the first and only region to fully embed QSI and become accredited, leading promotion across Northern Ireland, enhancing patient care and promoting the profession
- Northern: Pre-treatment radiographers, Northern Centre for Cancer Care - for reintroduction of updated MRI-only radiotherapy planning pathway, aiding dosimetry offices and reduction of wait times and delivery of bespoke service.
- Scotland: Clinical Training Team, Scottish Academy of Breast Imaging (SABI) - for their maintenance of standards, educational and pastoral support, and development of breast imaging practices for the mammographic workforce.
- South East: Kent Oncology Centre Radiotherapy Radiographers - for their “tremendous strides” in improving the national cancer waiting times target for the department and commitment to upskilling teams.
- South West: South West Regional Radiotherapy Late Effects Services - for their development of the team from nothing to over 800 new referrals, efforts to evolve and learn to improve the service, and creation of a service model for users across the country.
- Wales: Nuclear Medicine Radiographers, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board - for the work to reduce waiting lists despite numerous barriers including staff shortages and restricted access to radiopharmaceuticals.
- Yorkshire and North Trent: Radiotherapy Team, Lincoln County Hospital - for their implementation of open mask and surface-guided radiotherapy, reducing mask anxiety and increasing comfort.
Educator of the Year
The Educator of the Year award honours educators who are committed to improving the learning experience of students and radiography apprentices, promoting inclusive learning environments and using innovative teaching methods to inspire their students.
This year’s winner is Alex Partner, who has been recognised for more than 10 years of dedicated service, and her profound commitment to supporting and guiding students, including mentorship for undertaking research at a European level.
Find out more about the Radiography Awards here.
(Image: Photo by Eva Slusarek)