Christie Medical Physics and Engineering Newsletter 70 May 2022

departments and scanners also need support from medical physics and there would be similar workforce challenges in providing experienced MR physicists to support these new scanners to ensure safe and efficient imaging services. This is a brief background of where we’re up to with the North West Imaging Networks and I’ll now summarise the key developments and initiatives that the CMPE MR physics group have been leading. Working alongside the Lead Healthcare Scientist for the North West and the NHSEI Regional Diagnostic team, CMPE have led in establishing a formal advisory group that will link directly to the North West Imaging Steering Group (NWISG). The NWISG sits within NHSEI and is leading on the transformation of imaging services in the North West. Due in no small part to the work of CMPE, the NWISG have recognised the key role that medical physics have in their strategy. The NWIMPAG meetings are chaired by Will Mairs and Mike Hutton from CMPE. For MR imaging we are formally supporting the NHSEI North West Regional Diagnostic team in network-wide initiatives already and have been recognised as a key partner in transforming the delivery of MR services across the North West Imaging Networks. Below, the figure shows the core structure of the North West Regional Diagnostic team at NHSEI showing the key input provided by the NWIMPAG. North West Imaging Medical Physics Advisory Group (NWIMPAG)

MR physics workforce and service specification

CMPE have led in writing a report on the status of the MR physics workforce in the North West. This report summarises the current MR physics workforce providing support across all three North West Imaging Networks and lays out the challenges faced across the region as more MR scanners are installed and CDCs are commissioned. We have insufficient MR physics staffing levels across the North West Imaging Networks for the current number of MR systems and departments so any significant growth will add pressure on an already stretched workforce. Recently the North Imaging Academy has been established, which will have a key role in training new staff as well as upskilling the current imaging workforce. The CMPE MR physics group and other members of CMPE are part of the governance board for the North West Imaging Academy, but we will also be looking for opportunities to train the MR physics workforce through these new training centres. The MR physics workforce report also address the gulf in the level of MR physics support offered to MR departments across the North West Imaging Networks from different medical physics providers, which we need to address in order to ensure that all patients receive the same high level of care close to home. CMPE are already providing what is considered gold standard MR physics support, but we have a role in increasing support to those trusts who currently have limited or no MR physics support. To support standardisation of MR physics support across the North West Imaging Networks we have worked with all providers in the North West to develop an MR physics service specification, which is closely aligned to the level of support currently provided by the CMPE MR physics group. The workforce report and the MR physics service specification document will be presented to the North West Regional Diagnostic Board in the near future. The workforce report will allow us to work with the NHSEI Regional Diagnostic team to address the MR physics workforce challenges, while the service specification may soon become the standard against which MR physics services are procured against in the North West.

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