Radiographers at the Royal Free Hospital have undergone “intensive training” to allow them to administer adrenaline if a patient has an adverse reaction to contrast.
The training was developed by operations managers at the Finchley Memorial Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), alongside the Society of Radiographers, the RFH resuscitation and Resuscitation Council UK.
Normally, on-site medical presence is required at the CDC during contrast scans, due to the potential risk of a patient having a severe allergic reaction to the fluid.
Finchley Memorial Hospital CDC, however, has trained its radiographers to be able to respond to such events quickly and effectively.
'Game-changer'
A spokesperson for the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust said this has been a “game-changer” for the service.
Where previously contrast scans could only be delivered for six hours a day, Monday to Friday when medical cover is available, they can now be delivered 10 hours a day, seven days a week.
Faster turnaround times for diagnosis and for starting treatment have enabled patients better access to diagnostic scans when they need them.
'Increasing skills and scope of practice'
Chloe Goodman, operations manager at the CDC and project lead, worked alongside the RFH resuscitation team, Resuscitation Council UK and the Society of Radiographers, to put the new safety policy in place and introduce a comprehensive training plan.
Ms Goodman was supported by Dr Ash Saini, clinical director for imaging and Mary Emerson, nurse consultant for critical care and the patient at risk and resuscitation team.
She said: “This has been a really satisfying piece of work for everyone involved. Staff have embraced the chance to increase their skills and scope of practice. We now deliver twice as many contrast scans each week across CT and MRI than we did previously, which ultimately means patients can start their treatment sooner.
“Patient safety is our absolute priority. We expanded the hours over time to ensure staff were comfortable with their new responsibilities and we receive on-going support from the NCL (North Central London) Imaging Academy with simulation training and additional training from the resuscitation team.”
'Managing emergencies quickly and safely
Staff are allowed to practise as much as needed, under nursing supervision, with a “phantom kit” for needle placement to ensure training becomes “muscle memory”.
The hospital has already experienced one adverse reaction since the new system was introduced – but as Ms Goodman explained: “staff took prompt action and the patient made an immediate recovery”.
Ms Emerson added: “Anaphylactic reactions to intravenous contrast are rare but life-threatening and require prompt life-saving treatment. This is a good example of how staff from any professional background can be prepared and supported to manage a clinical emergency swiftly and safely.
“It has been a pleasure working with the CDC team in training and simulations and great to see how well they all performed in real life.”
(Image: Radiography team at the Finchley Memorial Hospital CDC)