Radiology department wins at the British Institute of Radiology Awards

Yesterday marked the anniversary of when Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-radiation. Every year, on 8 November the world celebrates this discovery with World Radiography Day.

Today we are sharing a recent achievement of our Radiology department to mark the occasion.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Radiology department were recently recognised at the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) awards where they won the Radiation Safety Best Practice Award.

The award submission highlighted the work by the X-Ray team which started as a Quality Improvement project (QI).

The QI project aimed to reduce the number of unintended radiation exposures to patients due to mattress artefacts to zero within 3 months - this achieved a 100% success rate and is still seen as a success two years later with only a very small number of incidents since the completion of the QI project.

When the wrong mattress is used this can lead to serious patient safety issues and is a radiation protection risk, so it has been an important project for the team.

On winning the award, Beverley Calsen, General X-Ray Manager commented: “When I received the news that we had won the award, I felt delighted, genuinely proud of everything the team has achieved.

“This recognition reflects the commitment of our X-ray and multidisciplinary teams who demonstrate every day safe care and are continually improving both the experience and outcomes of our patients.

“The BIR Radiation Safety Best Practice Award is presented to teams that demonstrate measurable, evidence-based improvements in radiation optimisation and safety culture. Being named the winner is a significant achievement for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals and highlights the strength of our governance processes, our collaborative approach, and the professionalism and expertise of our colleagues involved. For the Trust, this award reinforces that the improvements we have implemented are not only operationally effective but are also nationally recognised as examples of best practice.

“I am incredibly proud of the team and sincerely grateful for the care, dedication, collaboration and compassion that underpin everything we do at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals.”