Welcome to the Patient Advisory Group

Philip is chair of the PAG. He explains during his time with the CoR. "I have been a member of the PPLG and now the PAG for about 12 years and Chair for the last 8 years. I decided to join the Group after recovering from a serious illness and thought that becoming involved with the Group was a way of giving something back. I had had a wide experience of health issues both as a patient and carer. During the COVID pandemic all meetings have been online for the College and many other organisations and this has brought many more opportunities. I have worked on projects with numerous Universities on both Patient and Radiation related matters. I have spoken at the CoRIPS seminar in London about my involvement in the task and finish group to develop the Society and College of Radiographers' Patient Public and Practitioner Partnerships within Imaging and Radiotherapy: Guiding Principles, introduced a new Patient award at the Radiographer of the year event at the House of Commons. I am a member of the SoR Research Group and sit on the SCoR Communications Forum. I was part of the working party that responded to the Francis Report on behalf of the SoR. I attend the College Board of Trustees meetings as a lay member from time to time. I have been a lay / patient member on the Public Health England (PHE) International Research Group into Ionising Radiation impact on Cataracts. I worked on the Clinical Imaging Board project to develop a paper on Errors, Adverse Events and Near Misses." Philip explains: “Membership of the PAG is open to anyone and we meet two or three times a year and will resume some face to face meetings soon, with expenses covered by the College. We also keep in touch electronically,” he adds. Philip explains that being a part of the PAG is more than just turning up, having a voice is important: “From the PAG perspective it is important that we are able to give the Patient View and that we understand radiographers and the environment in which they work so that we can provide credible and genuine support,” he says. “We are supported by CoR and SoR officers and work closely with them on a broad range of projects and professional issues. We also share our insights and views with these working groups, boards and other organisations". "It is both fascinating and very rewarding to know that as a lay person you can get involved and help in the delivery and improvement of great patient care.”

Claire is currently the President of the Society of Radiographers and a Scotland representative to UK Council. She is a diagnostic radiographer with 13 years’ experience. Claire says, “Although not a native Scot, my broad Yorkshire accent gives that away, but I am proud to represent Scottish members.” She has worked in CT and MRI but the majority of Claire’s career has been spent in general radiography, a speciality of which she is a passionate advocate. She is a principle radiographer, helping to deliver the radiology service across four rural community departments. Claire has been involved with the SoR in many roles, both in Scotland and UK-wide. She says, “I am extremely proud to be a radiographer and it is this that drives me to be a good representative on UK Council.”

Richard is the Chief Executive Officer of the Society of Radiographers and represents the organisations culture, intention and commitment to listening to the patient voice.

Charlotte is Director of Professional Practice at the SoR. She provides oversight to ensure our professional and educational activities reflect the principles of patient, public and practitioner partnerships. Charlotte is also President of the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS).

Rachel is a therapeutic radiographer and the Professional and Educational Manager at the SoR. She has been a member of the Patient Advisory Group since it began and was integral to the development of the Patient Public and Practitioner Partnerships within Imaging and Radiotherapy: Guiding Principles published in 2018. Rachel is passionate about qualitative research, evidenced based practice and listening to patients to ensure we deliver the most effective care in the most appropriate way.

I am a retired teacher of Modern Foreign languages and a JP and have served as a patient representative in the NHS at national and local levels. I am proud to be a founder member of our Patient and Public Liaison Group now the Patient Advisory Group (PAG). In 2007 I responded to a newspaper advert appealing for members of the public who would be interested in forming a PPLG of the CoR and SoR. At about this time I had completed research as part of my postgraduate studies on the the topic of Patient Involvement in the NHS. The conclusion I had reached was that there was very little positive and effective participation so I felt that this was an opportunity to make a useful contribution. During my time as a member of the PPLG I have had the opportunity to serve on various boards and working groups including the Approval and Accreditation Board, the College Board of Trustees, the Radiotherapy Board and the National Radiotherapy Implementation Group. In all these activities my input as a lay person has been fully appreciated and I have always felt that my contributions have been valued. I believe, therefore, that the PAG has a very important role to play in improving the patient experience. Being a member of the PAG has also given me other opportunities to participate in the wider health community – I am an accredited lay assessor for the United Kingdom Accreditation Service and carry out assessments in both Imaging and Physiological services. “I’d say to anyone – get involved! And the more you get involved, the more you get out of it. I’ve met many incredible people and seen some of the vast amounts of work that goes on. It really makes you appreciate what is done for the patient and gives you a small but not insignificant insight into the NHS. It’s incredibly enjoyable.”

Rachel joined the PAG in 2019 in response to a national call out for new members. She works as International Evidence Manager for an international Multiple Sclerosis (MS) charity who encourage all their members (the MS movement) to work together to improve the lives of their patients and loved ones. Their aim aligns to the College of Radiographers objectives for people to be involved and empowered in all aspects of their care. Rachel is part of Biobank, a study where they use her medical data to help with research projects. She has also been involved with various small projects with the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research – such as commenting on information/advice/instructions from a patient perspective and NIHR’s people in research which advertises opportunities for public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research. Rachel was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome-hypermobility type in 2005 when she was training for the London marathon to raise vital funds for the Samaritans and has just agreed to become a trustee of a small umbrella charity (HMSA) that helps all types of bendy people. They offer support groups, HCP training and patient advice.

Liz lives and works in Northern Ireland and she joined the PAG in 2019. Liz is passionate about ensuring radiographers work with patients to develop services. She believes in true co-production where patients and healthcare professionals work together to achieve service improvement. Liz is the voice of the PAG on the review group for the Quality Standard for Imaging.

Gill is a therapeutic radiographer and immediate past president of the SoR. She has been a PAG member since July 2019. Along with Chris she brings continuity to the PAG to ensure the patient voice is integral to the work of the SoR. Gill has been a member of the Society of Radiographers since qualifying in 1988 from the Middlesex & University College Hospitals School of Radiotherapy, London where she worked for a brief time before moving to Northern Ireland to work. Gill is an active member on the Northern Ireland Council. Gill is passionate about ensuring patients receive the most advanced care and in diagnosis, treatment and monitoring pathways. Gill is proud to call herself a radiographer.

Wendy qualified as a diagnostic radiographer in 1980 and has worked in both the NHS and independent sector in a range of diagnostic radiography roles. Wendy maintains HCPC registration and membership of SCoR as her professional training as a diagnostic radiographer underpins everything that she does. Wendy enjoyed working in a wide range modalities in secondary care and tertiary centres in the first half of her career. The final 10 years of clinical service delivery were spent in MRI undertaking scanning and teaching the next generation of MRI radiographers. After a period as Head of Operations she moved to her current role as Director of Clinical Quality for InHealth with an absolute focus on patient safety and continuous quality improvement. With her team she works to improve patient and staff safety through education and training and the use of clinical human factors to understand why errors are made in the delivery of clinical care to patients throughout radiology. Wendy says “Patient experience is a key strand of the work we do so we can use feedback to improve services. We work with patients and service users to develop our policies and patient information literature using co-production and ensure that we include resources that support the diverse range of people accessing healthcare services.”

Lynda is a diagnostic radiographer and a professional officer for clinical imaging at the SoR. Lynda liaises with the PAG and SoR members and actions recommendations from the PAG in line with SoR and CoR strategy.

My background is mostly marketing in creative/educational areas and my current work is as a market research interviewer. I have experience of cancer and other conditions in my family and my hope is that there may be something in these combined experiences which might contribute ‘patient’ insight whenever possible or appropriate.