The Christie Charity
The Pat Seed team are the winners of The Christie’s You Made a Difference Award for August 2023. The following comments were made aboutthe team in the August nominations.
Judges picked the Pat Seed team out as very deserving winners and said that the comments made about them showed how they represent The Christie values and behaviours.
“The team consists of clerical staff, who add all the request forms to the radiology information system, book appointments for all CT scans liaising with other teams to coordinate appointments for patients, and book beds for any CT procedures when required.
“When patients are coming from outside the Greater Manchester area, the clerical staff ensure any recent outside scans are transferred to our systems. They book in outpatients and ensure everyone in the waiting area is as comfortable as can be. They also answer phone calls from both patients and staff at The Christie and take queries from outside hospitals.
“The radiographic aides prepare all the patients for their CT scan. This includes checking through safety questionnaires, preparing the CT medications to the scanning protocol requirement, getting patients changed if needed, inserting and flushing lines. They remove cannulas after the scan has been completed and ensure the patient is safe to leave the department.
“The radiographers include CT only, cross-sectional (CT and MR) and rotational (CT, plain film, and intervention). They guide patients through their examinations, scan the patient to the protocol required complete imaging reconstructions, vet requests and prioritise patients, they are all trained to spot incidental pulmonary emboli- ensuring patients receive treatment at the same hospital visit. They also help to coordinate in the prep area helping the aides with queries and workflow. Some of our radiographers are currently training to help patients with difficult veins by training in ultrasound guided cannulation.
“The radiologists will vet the more unusual requests, report the scans and carryout procedures such as biopsies and drains. They are always at the end of the phone for guidance and queries.
“The team were nominated in August as this was when we were undergoing the second replacement CT scanner this year. It was a particular challenging time trying to maximise capacity, whilst we were down a scanner for 7 weeks. The first replacement scanner happened in March/April, so having to be a scanner down twice in such a short time was particularly challenging for the team.
“All the staff pulled together to ensure the department ran as smooth as possible. The clerical team had to deal with lots of phone calls from patients and teams asking when the scan would be. We also tried to keep others informed via our intranet. The radiographers and aides also worked on the CT scanner in the proton beam therapy centre, when protons had gaps in their scanning, allowing more patients to be scanned. Some staff helped by giving up their weekends to do extra outpatient lists.
“The team deserve this award in recognition of all the hard work and effort they put in every day to ensure our patients receive the best care we can provide.
“Outside work, the team have recently taken part in The Christie rounders match, where team ‘Funny Bones’ came joint third. We also have a keen gardening group, which earlier in the year swapped plants grown from seeds and cuttings.
“During the summer, we had a fun day in Fog Lane Park, as a get together with garden toys. Some of our interesting hobbies include archery, climbing, hiking and cake baking!”
Sarah Iddles, superintendent radiographer
