A TEAM of cardiac radiographers from Basildon Hospital have won an award for their dedicated, non-stop service.

The radiographers, based at the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre at the hospital, are part of a team which provides the only interventional cardiology service, providing treatments for heart disease using small incisions and hollow, flexible tubes called catheters, in Essex.

They have won the Eastern Region Radiography Team of the Year 2016 from The Society and College of Radiographers and will attend a ceremony at the House of Commons in November, where they will also be judged for the overall UK Team of the Year award.

Karen King, superintendent radiographer, said: “I think what made our entry stand out is that we are a very small team that provides a 24/7cardiac imaging service for patients not only in Basildon Hospital, but the whole of Essex. This means we have radiographers constantly on call, who are ready to get here from home very quickly if there is an out-of-hours emergency.

“And we have just established a round-the-clock service for possible vascular emergencies, so we are meeting the challenge of a doubled workload.”

The team also pride themselves on having designed a training programme that enables them to extend their practice outside the usual role of a radiographer. Two of them are trained as scrub nurses who can prepare patients for procedures and administer drugs.

Karen added: “This flexibility improves team work and ensures safer patient care, especially out-of-hours. It’s also a good way to ensure staff can develop their skills, which helps meet the challenge of recruitment that all hospitals are facing.”

One radiographer from the team also has spoken about their role at an international conference, held by the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society.