REPORT // MULTI-MODALITY // Adopt and Adapt, COVID-19
The Radiology Quest The COVID-19 crisis has put our NHS under extraordinary pressure. As we move beyond the initial response, which interrupted elective diagnostic services to make way for the surge in COVID-19 patients, the recovery of diagnostic imaging services is now a top priority
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owever, it is important to acknowledge that imaging services were under pressure before the pandemic took hold. Work had already begun via the NHS Long Term Plan and Transforming Imaging Services initiatives under which NHS Improvement (NHSI) was updating the ageing installed base of CT and MRI scanners. What is new is that in this new climate there is greater emphasis on the urgency for increased capacity and the provision of COVID-secure environments to encourage patients back into the healthcare system and restore service levels.
Adopt and adapt means thinking differently and innovating quickly
Radiology has always been, and will continue to be, a key element of a patient’s journey. It goes well beyond the initial investigation of symptoms, to confirmation of diagnosis, monitoring and the progression of a condition over time. As treatments become increasingly more targeted and sophisticated, the use of both CT and MRI has become routine in patient pathways.
18 // VISIONS 05
Driving innovation and change in the busy healthcare environment is challenging. The day-to-day service delivery in a large organisation continues at pace under extraordinary pressure. To then introduce and adopt new innovation is a significant undertaking. So, what are the key steps that NHS radiology can continue to take to adopt and adapt in this new COVID-era? Firstly, it is time to think differently; to think beyond the walls of the traditional hospital establishment. Physical space on the hospital estate has to date been the insurmountable barrier to service expansion. Today, solutions exist that create new imaging rooms quickly and without causing existing capacity downtime. This use of mobile, relocatables and community locations will greatly help expansion. For example, 15 relocatable CT units were mobilised by Canon Medical Systems UK as part of NHS England’s COVID-19 recovery plan, and were placed in unused car parking spaces, ambulance bays or small garden areas.
