Cheshire and Merseyside Diagnostics Programme launches Physiological Sciences Network
Friday, 10 May 2024
The Cheshire and Merseyside Diagnostics Programme, part of the Cheshire and Merseyside Acute and Specialists Trust Provider Collaborative (CMAST) has successfully launched its fifth network representing Physiological Science disciplines and services.
The launch event held this month brought together physiological science colleagues from CMAST provider trusts from across Cheshire and Merseyside. It was an opportunity for professionals from the different disciplines to meet one another and to discuss their challenges, successes and aspirations for the network.
Physiological sciences represents a range of disciplines delivered by healthcare scientists and physiologists including, respiratory and sleep physiology, audiology, cardiac physiology, gastrointestinal physiology, urodynamics, ophthalmic and vision science, neurophysiology and vascular physiology.
A large number of diagnostic tests are also delivered by our physiological and healthcare sciences colleagues across Cheshire and Merseyside. Examples of these are vascular scans, echocardiograms, electrocardiograms (ECG), blood pressure testing, hearing screening, visual tests investigating the structure and function of the eyes, electroencephalograms and peripheral neurophysiology tests, gastrointestinal investigations, bladder function testing, lung function testing, spirometry, and sleep studies to name only a few.
The Physiological Science Network will work in a number of ways to support these disciplines to improve the delivery and access to these specialist services. They will do this by:
- Connecting services across Cheshire and Merseyside to improve quality of care and increase efficiency.
- Supporting workforce development by enabling staff to work and train across multiple Trusts and encouraging people to pursue these disciplines.
- Highlighting the importance of these roles and the career opportunities available.
- Enabling the adoption of cutting-edge innovation and supporting services to use digital programmes to help reduce reporting time.
- Bringing services closer to the communities they serve, making them more accessible.
Tracey Cole, Programme Director, Cheshire and Merseyside Diagnostics said:
“This is the perfect next step for the Diagnostics programme. Physiological sciences play a crucial role in diagnostics and it only makes sense that they are brought in as part of the Diagnostics Programme to help us connect and improve diagnostic services across Cheshire and Merseyside.
We are already seeing a number of opportunities that this network will be able to provide to our physiological science services including, sharing best practice, raising their profile, providing chances for collaboration with other services and locations across our footprint and supporting in tackling health inequalities.”
For more information about the Physiological Sciences network please email: ccf-tr.candmdiagnosticprogramme@nhs.net.