Question:
Do you believe that all radiographers either permanently based or rotating through should be classified as Band 6 - Senior Radiographer position?
Answers:
 | Mr Greg Cruickshank
Superintendent Radiographer
Cardiac Catheter Suite
King's College Hospital NHS Trust
London This is a very good question, and one that there are a number of ways of looking at. On the one hand, if you make working in a Catheter Lab as a Radiographer exclusively something for staff band 6 or above, you are excluding some very capable band 5 staff from the opportunity of doing so. However when things “go wrong” in Catheter Lab’s, you want staff with the experience and ability to cope under extreme pressure, and where someone’s life relies on their ability to do so. Some would argue that such experience is only found in staff banded at more Senior levels.
My personal view is that there is no direct correlation between someone’s banding, and whether they will cope and adapt well to the pressures of working in a Catheter Lab. It is an area that some staff enjoy working in, and others do not. Having a structured approach to training, good competency assessment tools, a quality audit program (of images acquired), regular updates, and a no fault de-brief of any acute situations staff encounter will mean that staff at band 5 level can certainly operate confidently, competently and safely in such and environment.
Having band 5 staff trained and competent means more flexibility in staffing service provision if you rely on Radiographers who rotate from Main Radiology like we do here at King’s, rather than having Cath Lab only staff like many other units have. Either way I believe that band 5 staff should have a role to play in the staff profile of a Catheter Lab. In the current economic climate, Senior Manager’s need to question what grade/banding profile is necessary to provide a safe and efficient service, and in my opinion this is certainly possible having some band 5 staff in the mix.
I understand that others will have a different view. It would certainly be nice to be able to financially reward staff more for the jobs they do, however I do not think it necessary for staff to be at band 6 level to be capable of being competent to provide a safe service to patients, and to enjoy doing so.
One final thought. I employ an Assistant Practitioner (band 4) to assist in the Pacing and EP lab. I had an AP helping out a while back whom was very new to the Cath Lab environment when he was involved in a case where the patient had an arrest that required prolonged resuscitation. He did a number of 2 minute cycles of chest compressions on the patient (having never done them on a real patient before), who thankfully went on to make a complete recovery. So impressed was the Consultant doing the case with his efforts, the next day he took the individual concerned up to the ward to see the patient, and told the her that this was the man who saved her life. The individual concerned has since gone on to qualify as a Radiographer (nearly 2 years ago), and is about to start his Angio/PCI training as a Band 5 Radiographer. If it is ever my turn comes to have a procedure done in a Catheter lab, I hope that Radiographer is trained correctly, with regular audit, and is part of a team who work well together and enjoy their job. I really don’t mind at all what grade they are. |
