The SoR’s ‘4Ps’ guidance, which ensures the patient voice is prioritised across service delivery, service development, education and research in radiography, has received a comprehensive refresh.
This refresh brings it in line with changing government policy, reflects technological advances, and ensures it is up to date with changes to best practice.
Following an extensive evaluation, review, and content update, the ‘A Partnership between Patients, Practitioners and the Public within Imaging and Radiotherapy services’ (4Ps) document has been transformed into a high-quality digital version with refreshed guidance and improved accessibility.
Members of the SoR will be able to find the new and improved version on the Society’s website from summer 2026.
'More responsive, more equitable'
Lynda Johnson, professional officer responsible for the Patient Advisory Group at the SoR, said the new version of the document supports innovation and technological process while paying attention to the importance of the patient experience.
She explained: “The refreshed format has been designed to be more engaging, accessible and relevant to the contemporary radiographic workforce. The revised guiding principles emphasise why embedding real patient and carer perspectives across these four key domains is vital for developing truly person-centred practitioners.
“Lived experience reveals insights that textbooks and clinical teaching alone cannot provide. Patients’ voices must inform how radiographers communicate, empathise, make decisions, design services and deliver safe, compassionate, partnership-focused care.
“When patients help shape the systems that educate and guide us, the result is care that is more responsive, more equitable and more closely aligned with real-world needs. We encourage everyone involved in patient-facing work to engage with these revised principles. They support the development of not only technical expertise, but also the values, attitudes, communication skills and compassion that patients consistently tell us matter most.”
Reflecting challenges
In March of 2018, a taskforce of patients, practitioners, researchers, educators and SoR officers under the direction of Dr Leslie Robinson developed the original set of guiding principles to ensure SoR priorities on centrality of patient voice would become embedded throughout the organisation.
The guidance was published in autumn 2018, and included core values gleaned from patients and carers, as well as methods and resources for achieving these values.
But in 2022, the Patient Advisory Group (PAG) proposed a review and update to reflect challenges both patients and practitioners were facing, with reference to the Covid-19 pandemic, changes to government policy, technological advancements, and changes in practice.
The evaluation made use of an online survey of qualified and learner radiographer members of the SoR to explore awareness of the document, followed by the recruitment of focus groups composed of participants who responded to the survey.
Data was analysed using thematic analysis, and while the existing guidance was fit for purpose when it was published in 2018, and had been well-used by radiographers who were aware of it, it became clear that parts of it were out of date, and that it was not well-known by the radiography community.
'Tireless work has been undertaken'
In response, the PAG and SoR made six recommendations for a refresh, including:
- Consideration should be given to embedding the guiding principles within the flagship standards of the SoR
- Consider updating the content and including learning from the COVID-19 pandemic
- Highlight areas where the radiography workforce could have big impact at low cost, compassionate and find ‘time to care’, such as the ‘Hello my name is…’ initiative
- Consider renewing the branding to make it more patient-centred
- Bring the content alive by developing bite-sized dynamic resources or podcasts to represent key messages from the guidance
- Adjust to suit a digital format on the SoR website, accompanied by a short hard copy handout incorporating QR codes directing to the website
In autumn 2025, PAG, under the leadership of Dr Emma Hyde started work to refresh the guidance.
From there, three key areas of focus were identified: the relationship between the guidance and the Quality Standards for Imaging (QSI); the relationship between the guidance and the College of Radiographers Education and Career Framework (ECF) published in 2022; and the need for an Equality Impact Assessment to be undertaken to inform the refresh.
Philip Plantis chair of the Patient Advisory Group and was a key part of the work, including helping create some of the original guiding principles.
He explained of the initial document: “The strong patient voice throughout the document was thought to make for essential reading for all radiographers who wanted to learn from their patients.
“Tireless work has been undertaken by Emma Hyde and her team to update, refresh and answer the criticisms made of the first iteration. I am confident it will be well received by the profession and stakeholders.”
The updated document is due to be published on the SoR website this summer.