Last week saw the Scottish government launch a clinical network to support health boards in providing and improving diagnostic imaging services.
The Managed Diagnostic Imaging Clinical Network aims to establish excellent collaborative working across Scotland to deliver the NHS Imaging Service Modernisation Agenda.
SoR representatives and key stakeholders including radiography managers, clinical directors, radiologists and project leads from health boards met at the launch event in Edinburgh to help determine the priorities and workplan.
The event incorporated presentations – the keynote speaker was Dr Harry Burns, chief medical officer at Scottish government – and discussion workshops which led to the identification of priority areas under three separate themes of data, quality and strategy.
The network workplan is also being informed via:
• An online survey of key stakeholders.
• Discussion visits with clinical directors / general managers.
• Main recommendations from the Scottish Benchmarking and Audit Scotland reports.
• Continuing the good work of the previous Diagnostics Collaborative.
The draft workplan will be ready by the end of October 2009 with the final version for January 2010.
Radiographer Jim Cannon is the network manager and both he and clinical lead Dr Iain Robertson are hoping for real collaboration and full engagement with the imaging community.
An MDCIN steering group will be set up (with representations from clinical staff, as well as the SoR, RCR, NHS QIS, NES, Scottish government and ISD (Information Statistics division)). Full network member meetings will take place bi-annually and an MDCIN website will be set up.
