Updated guidance on working in partnership with patients and the public: second edition of the 4 Ps launched at UKIO 2026

Submitted by Dr Emma Hyde, head of education and research at The Society of Radiographers.

Working in partnership with patients and the public is becoming increasingly important to meet patient expectations of healthcare services and deliver high quality care. The launch of the second edition of A Partnership between Patients, Practitioners and the Public within Imaging and Radiotherapy Services: Guiding Principles by The College of Radiographers (CoR) at UKIO 2026 is a significant step forward in supporting services to deliver high quality person-centred care.

As a project lead, it has been a privilege to steer the development of the second edition of the guiding principles, also known as the 4 Ps. The updated guidance is the result of a year of collaboration between members of the CoR’s patient advisory group, members of The Society of Radiographers (SoR), and staff at the SoR.

Modelling the partnership-working that is advocated for within the guidance, the team worked closely to review the first edition, and make suggestions for enhancements, undertake an equality impact assessment, and map the existing guidance against the Health and Care Professions Council Standards of Proficiency for Radiographers and the CoR Education and Career Framework. This work gave the team a blueprint for the changes that were required in the second edition of the guiding principles.

This second edition of the 4 Ps provides a structured approach for all radiographers to adopt partnership working with patients and the public. By aligning the four pillars of practice to different sections within the guidance, it enables radiographers to identify ways that they could strengthen their partnership working as appropriate to their role (pictured).

Each section of the 4 Ps contains a number of values for consideration. Each value has a number of patient quotes illustrating why that value is important, suggestions for how to achieve that value, and hyperlinks to useful resources, including NHS guidelines, SoR publications, peer reviewed scientific journal articles, information from organisations working with different patient groups and educational materials.

Over the coming months, we will be populating a 4 Ps Hub, showcasing examples of good practice in partnership working, to help those starting on the journey. The interactive, digital-first nature of the guidance means that it will be a live and evolving document, and we will add new resources to the guidance, as they become available. We are also launching a 4 Ps Champion scheme, a community of practice made up of radiographers passionate about improving partnership working to ensure the delivery of high quality care in imaging and radiotherapy services.

The College of Radiographers 4 Ps Hub is available online.

Picture: Alignment between the four pillars of practice and the four sections of the 4 Ps.

Further reading

College of Radiographers (2026). A Partnership between Patients, Practitioners and the Public within Imaging and Radiotherapy Services: Guiding Principles (2nd edition). Available from: www.sor.org/learning-advice/professional-body-guidance-and-publications/documents-and-publications/policy-guidance-document-library/4ps

Read this report on page 14 of the July 2026 issue of RAD Magazine.