REFLECTION ON PAEDIATRIC IR UK 2024

The 6th Annual Paediatric IR UK meeting was another great success! The event took place on Monday, 20 May 2024, at Austin Court in Birmingham, UK. This picturesque venue, located adjacent to a canal, offered excellent facilities that were further enhanced by the beautiful, sunny weather. The meeting attracted nearly 100 attendees, including radiologists, trainees, nurses, and radiographers, along with several industry sponsors.

The day was organised into six comprehensive sessions, each designed to address various aspects of paediatric interventional radiology (PIR). The first session, "What the Adult IR Needs to Know," was aimed at encouraging adult IRs to gain confidence in extending their IR skills for some paediatric cases if and when it might be needed in their centre The session comprised four insightful talks covering vascular access, biopsy and drainage, angiography, and venous interventions.

Following this, the second session focused on "Complications in Paediatric IR," where three speakers shared their experiences dealing with challenges in sclerotherapy, gastrointestinal intervention, and hepatobiliary intervention Complications sessions are always popular, and this was no exception The talks were frank, insightful, and reflective, highlighting the importance of learning from complications to improve patient outcomes.

The third session, "How to Grow Paediatric IR," featured three talks on strategies for improving paediatric IR services, training, and overall service development in the UK. It was a chance to reflect on early progress that has come out of the recent RCR guidance on expanding PIR (Improving Paediatric Interventional Radiology (PIR) services in the UK), developments and trends in how PIR training is made workable in the UK, and included a fantastic talk from Dr Linda Watkins on the highs and lows of Glasgow Children’s Hospital service development story, with some valuable life lessons thrown in for free

A 1 5-hour hands-on and vendor spotlight session was another highlight of the day Participants engaged in practical stations on paediatric IV access and feeding tube insertion/management, while industry representatives showcased their latest equipment and innovations This interactive session provided an invaluable opportunity for hands-on learning and direct engagement with cutting-edge technology and how to adapt it for use in children.

The day was organised into six comprehensive sessions, each designed to address various aspects of paediatric interventional radiology (PIR). The first session, "What the Adult IR Needs to Know," was aimed at encouraging adult IRs to gain confidence in extending their IR skills for some paediatric cases if and when it might be needed in their centre The session comprised four insightful talks covering vascular access, biopsy and drainage, angiography, and venous interventions.

The day concluded with "Lessons from the Coalface," the ever-popular final series of short presentations by consultant paediatric IRs who shared real-life cases and the lessons they have learned the hard way This final session allowed for a rich exchange of practical knowledge and experiences among peers. It isn’t easy to stand up and talk about the hard stuff, but these spotlights were delivered with humility, insight, and hard-won experience.

The whole day was filled with a sense of community and excitement, as people who were invested in PIR enjoyed the chance to discuss this fascinating corner of IR, meet old friends and make new ones. The event was met with excellent initial feedback, underscoring its success in fostering education, collaboration, and professional development. We would like to express our gratitude to the British Society of Interventional Radiology (BSIR) for their support in organising the meeting

With high expectations, we look forward to the next annual meeting scheduled for 19 May 2025, at the same venue, IET Birmingham.

Nasim Tahir

Chair, Paediatric IR UK, BSIR Special Interest Committee Consultant Paediatric Radiologist, The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Read the full article: https://issuu.com/bsir/docs/2024_autumn_newsletter_3_