Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust team wins prize for improving patient experience

Professor of radiography and imaging practice research and BIR vice president (education) Maryann Hardy, imaging department innovation acceleration programme manager Katherine Day, lead advanced reporting radiographer practitioner Victoria Ballard and senior account manager IEL Phil Neale.

A team from the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust has been presented with the BIR/IEL Make it Better Award for its work on improving the throughput of patients by developing a radiographer-led discharge plan.  The award was presented at the UKRCO meeting in July.

The team used existing research on radiographer led discharge (RLD) to tailor a pathway to meet local needs and comply with trust guidelines.  The scheme was trialled and demonstrated a significant time difference of 55 minutes between those patients who were and were not referred for RLD.  Not only did this improve patient experience but allowed for an improved flow and heightened job satisfaction among the radiographers involved.  In patient evaluation 96 per cent of patients were either likely or extremely likely to recommend the service and 100 per cent of patients said they wanted to continue with the trial.

Ballard said: “We were thrilled to receive this award for our project. This has the dual benefit of reducing time in hospital for patients on the pathway and freeing up clinician time for patients not suitable for RLD.”

Read the full report on page 4 of the September 2018 issue of RAD Magazine.