Improving training for radiologists in the north east

A new training suite for aspiring radiologists is being opened in the north east. Currently radiology trainees gain their experience in real time on real patients. This is of course vital to the training process and will continue, however, this new training suite will give exposure to a full range of scenarios in a controlled setting and will be structured to cover all required elements of the curriculum.

The suite gives radiology trainees the opportunity to train on virtual, validated cases, supported and monitored closely by professionals in the field. This will result in better trained, more experienced specialists entering the region’s NHS workforce.

Heading up the project is Dr Richard Cooper, Head of the School of Radiology at Health Education North East:

Health Education North East and County Durham and Darlington Foundation NHS Trust have invested in the first region-wide collaborative training centre, which will collect the very cream of validated radiology cases in one place from across all the acute Trusts in the region, collate and organise them into a coherent collection, and thus enable both standardisation of training experience and the entirety of the Royal College of Radiologists curriculum to be covered. With it, and other innovations under development, radiology training in the north east moves from good to great.

The suite has been possible due to funding from Health Education North East and is hosted by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust in their education centre. The centre will be opened by the President of the Royal College of Radiologists, Dr Giles Maskell who backs the need for this type of initiative.

We have an urgent need to train more radiologists in the UK. This innovative project is a significant step in the right direction and puts the north east at the forefront of radiology training in this country.

Health Education North East’s Postgraduate Dean, Professor Namita Kumar, is proud to back such an innovative project,

The School of Radiology Training Suite is a very positive step forward in developing the training that is delivered to the north east and north Cumbria NHS workforce. The opening of this suite is the first of many projects we have invested in to improve the training our workforce of the future receive. The suite reflects regional collaboration at its best, to benefit the patients of the north east and north Cumbria.

Professor Chris Gray, Executive Medical Director at County Durham and Darlington Foundation NHS Trust, added,

Diagnostic imagery is critical in the management of so many of our patients and the importance of radiological services is often under recognised by healthcare planners. The trust is committed to supporting this development and working with the School of Radiology to deliver excellence in training for all healthcare professionals.