Patient Advisory Group (PAG)
Lay members working with SoR and CoR
Lay members working with SoR and CoR
Patients are at the heart of everything radiographers do, so it is important that the Society and College of Radiographers work with both patients and the public to ensure diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy services meet their needs. The group was set up in 2007 to give patients the opportunity to influence the work of the Society and College and to ensure their views are represented.
We are a friendly group of people who have personally experienced diagnostic imaging services or have had radiotherapy or other treatments delivered by radiographers. We might also be carers or relatives of people who have accessed radiographic services and have an interest in influencing the standard of care. We all have a voice and our views matter to the Society and College of Radiographers.
We are a small group who get together with Society and College representatives to write and review publications that influence and support the radiographic workforce.
The group enables the Society and College to meet its strategic objectives:
Within the Society and College, PAG members provide lived experience and input to publications, consultation responses and evolving strategy through co-production.
Together we promote patient, public and practitioner partnerships in diagnostics imaging and radiotherapy
The group meets up twice a year in London and between meetings communicates electronically throughout the year.
During the COVID pandemic all meetings have been on line and have become more frequent, with interesting presentations from the Society of Radiographers professional members.
All travel and subsistence expenses for group meetings are paid by the CoR in line with our expenses policy.
We need our patients and the public to share their experiences and views to enable us to learn about services and develop our practice.
The healthcare landscape and structure has changed over recent years and is now more focused on patients and empowering them to share in decision making (‘No decision about me, without me’). It is important that patients are involved in all aspects of the healthcare service, which includes the work, policy and strategy of the professional bodies.
Please encourage your patients to join this group if you feel the PAG could benefit from their views and experience.
| Contacts |
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Georgina Hylton Executive Secretary |
Membership is open to everyone. Members are recruited by national advertisements. You do not need any particular qualifications but basic IT skills are very helpful. We welcome people from all backgrounds and from anywhere within the United Kingdom. All we ask is that you bring your voice and share your views with us.
Membership of the group is for a period of two years, which can be renewed for a further two years.
To find out more about the PAG and how to join, please email Georgina Hylton.
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Charlotte is Executive 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 a Past President of the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS).
Ross is a therapeutic radiographer who graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2009. Currently a senior therapeutic radiographer (Pre-Treatment) at the Lanarkshire Beatson satellite centre, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Ross has significant leadership experience in UK wide healthcare, working across healthcare quality improvement, public health, health inequality and healthcare sustainability projects.
Clare applied to join the PAG after meeting with some radiography students and sharing her experience as a cancer patient to aid their leaning. Having been heavily involved in shaping and delivering services in her housing career, being on the other side of the table as a patient provided a new perspective and realisation of what being served/engaging as a recipient feels like. Clare is keen those (sometimes) uncomfortable experiences are not wasted.
Evidence from patients really should inform the development of good practice and guide services as they evolve and Clare is keen to help steer conversations towards a better understanding of lived experience in the health system.
As a lay member with no working knowledge of health services, Clare is hoping to help bring a fresh perspective and reminder of the need to empathise with the actual fears and experiences many of us will face as health issues are encountered.
Gill is a therapeutic radiographer and is a 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.
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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.
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Philip is chair of the PAG. He explains his time with the CoR. "I have been a member of the PPLG and now the PAG for about 8 years (I think) and Chair for the last 4 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.
I recently spoke 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.I am a member of the SoR Research Group. 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 am 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, 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 more than a ’tick box’ 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 of great patient care.”
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Claire is the Immediate Past President and Chair of 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.”
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Rachel is a therapeutic radiographer and the Head of Professional Practice and Educationat 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.
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.
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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.
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.”
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.