Accelerating care pathways through revolutionary imaging solutions

As we enter a new chapter of living with COVID-19, we will very soon be able to understand the impact of fewer government-imposed restrictions on the virus’ spread. Additionally, we will also have a clearer picture about what this might mean for the NHS over the summer months and into the autumn period.?

Hospital waiting lists have already reached new highs of 5.3 million people with almost 340,000 of those reported as waiting for over a year, while millions have delayed seeing their GP or attending hospital during the pandemic. These figures are only set to grow in the near term, with our new Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, warning that government modelling indicates 13 million people could be waiting for treatment in the coming months.

Considering the scale of the challenge, coupled with a potential surge in non-COVID related illnesses adding additional strain on NHS services, it is clear that we need to rapidly adopt new care pathways that not only optimise operations and resources, but which also bolster patient care.

If due focus is not given to the immediacy required to meet this demand, then the subsequent impact on the ability of the NHS to diagnose and treat disease will persist for many years, further widening healthcare inequalities.

A new vision for radiology screening

Radiology departments in particular will face significant challenges in the coming years. Confronted with an ageing population with increasing co-morbidities, a challenging workforce crisis, significant patient backlogs and increased pressures on imaging services, it is mission critical that new ways to manage patient pathways are implemented.?

That is why I was glad to see the ambitious plans set out by the Department for Health and Social Care to introduce legislation that enables the speed of innovation and integration of health and care services in England. It is a welcome step forward in easing the long-term pressures our health system faces, while also helping to address healthcare inequalities .??

There are practical solutions that can be introduced today. To support radiology services in navigating these pressures and prepare them to manage projected increasing demand, Philips has pioneered a world first vendor-agnostic Radiology Operations Command Centre (ROCC).

ROCC provides an additional layer of remote, senior specialist support to radiology services across the country by connecting radiographers and on-site staff with experts at a central command centre. The ability for senior radiographers to support others in more than one location at a time not only removes limitations of distance and travel time, but also helps to improve access to imaging services for patients.?

I’ve been speaking with customers around the globe about what this approach means for them and the feedback is incredible. One clinical manager said to me that ROCC was “able to help us identify a critical finding, an acute brain tumour, when a junior radiographer reached out from a different centre for assistance with something they saw on an MRI scan”.?

Not only did this take place in real-time while the patient was on the table, but the team was also able to notify the patient’s referring doctor whilst the diagnosis was taking place so they could be cared for immediately. This is a revolutionary step to accelerating care pathways.

I firmly believe that ROCC has the potential to enable NHS trusts across the UK to virtualise and digitise imaging. Moreover, as it is the first vendor-agnostic solution, it will also foster a spirit of collaboration and expertise sharing, improve training and help maximise value of staff.?

Enhancing the UK’s healthcare system for a brighter future?

The UK is a world leader when it comes to setting ambitious sustainability targets to safeguard the health of our planet. We should rival these aspirations in developing a world-leading healthcare model that not only tackles the challenges we currently face, but also enables more people to live longer, healthier lives, both now and in the future.

However, solutions like ROCC and diagnostic ‘hubs’ cannot be delivered in isolation. Helping communities to address their health will require a collaborative effort from industry, government, and healthcare practitioners to encourage genuine interaction and engagement.

I firmly believe that through the implementation of new programmes, new technologies and new patient pathways, we can reduce health inequalities and pave the way for transforming how we support the health of the nation across the UK and Ireland.