‘Don’t forget medical physics and clinical engineering in new hospitals', meeting told

11/10/2023

DEDICATED space for medical physics and clinical engineering staff needs to be included in new hospital buildings, a meeting has been told.

Representatives from IPEM took part in a New Hospitals Programme workshop recently, looking at how new hospitals should be designed in terms of effective care pathways and patient throughput efficiency.

The programme was announced by the government three years ago, with the aim of building 40 new hospitals by 2030. However, the National Audit Office report on progress on the programme earlier this year said the government will not deliver these hospitals within that timescale.

The recent workshop, which was held in London, was attended by IPEM representatives and was specifically tailored to look at the design of radiology departments.

During the workshop, plans of newly built hospitals in the UK and internationally were reviewed and critically evaluated.

Jen Cannon, IPEM’s new Professional Knowledge and Innovation Manager and an HCPC registered radiotherapy Clinical Scientist, was one of two IPEM representatives at the workshop.

She said: ‘We highlighted that none of the plans included dedicated space for medical physics or clinical engineering, and that having space for our staff to collaborate with radiology colleagues was an extremely important factor to be considered in new hospital design.’

A similar workshop looking at radiotherapy designs will be held at some point in the future and that will be attended by IPEM representatives.