RCR welcomes new NHSE National Specialty Adviser for Imaging
The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) has welcomed news that NHS England (NHSE) has named radiologist Dr. Sam Hare as its new National Specialty Adviser (NSA) for Imaging.
RCR President Dr Jeanette Dickson said:
"We are pleased at the announcement of Sam Hare as NHSE's new NSA for Imaging, and warmly welcome him into the role.
"Dr Hare is a well-known thoracic imaging expert, with significant experience of service development and change management. We are confident his extensive experience will be invaluable in advocating on behalf of the radiology community to shape the future of imaging provision across England.
"Properly resourced imaging services are vital to ensuring patients receive a rapid diagnosis and facilitating the best ongoing care, and local service development must be supported via strong clinical leadership from NHSE.
"The task of safely restarting services following the first wave of COVID-19 and mitigating the impact of further waves, while working to adapt and modernise, is a considerable one.
"In the short-term, hospital radiology teams will be looking to the new NSA to champion imaging provision as they work to re-start screening programmes and catch up on a backlog of more than a hundred thousand patients1 whose scans have been delayed by the pandemic.
"Looking to the future, NHSE's Long Term Plan promises the nationwide creation of integrated radiology networks within the next three years, and we are also now seeing moves towards more scanning outside of hospital settings, with ongoing discussions around the widespread creation of community diagnostic hubs.
"The RCR is keen to work with Dr Hare and NHSE to navigate those challenges and changes, and we very much look forward an effective collaboration over the coming years."
