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This motion saw the first card vote of the Annual Delegates Conference.

Louise Harding, on behalf of the Northwest Region, proposed a motion that challenged the ongoing use of the phrase ‘plain film’.

Introducing the motion, Louise said,”Several months ago I overheard a conversation one of our radiologists was having with a registrar. He was showing her around the department and I heard him say, ‘Oh, and this is where they do plain films.’

“This got me thinking - do we?”

Louise explained that ‘plain film is an out-of-date description of a radiographer’s role and is an ‘inappropriate’ way to describe the modality. She said that colleagues did suggest alternatives when she discussed it with them but she decided to raise a motion at ADC because “it should be a decision that should be made by the profession as a whole.”

“Plain film imaging remains at the core of imaging practice and should be considered a speciality in its own right,” Louise said.

Alternative suggestions include: primary, core, projectional, x-ray or conventional, first-line or 2D imaging, as well as initial acquisition, primary modality and digital radiography. 

Speaking against the motion, Mark Cassidy, SE Region, failed to see the point of considering a change. He said: “ You still go to the cinema and watch a film even though they are all digital now. You still refer to cassettes in a department. I still refer to a wireless when I mean a radio. If I take a sailing to France I don’t expect be taken on the Cutty Sark!

“We set ourselves up to fail if we try and police the English language.”

The motion was carried - but only just.