NHS LAUNCHES THE MIDLANDS PHYSIOLOGICAL SCIENCE NETWORK
18 December 2024
Healthcare science colleagues and system diagnostic leads along with other interested professionals from across the region came together for the launch of the Midlands Physiological Science Network. The day provided an opportunity to foster collaboration, innovation, and excellence in physiological science across the Midlands region.
Over the years, partners have worked together to better understand physiological science services by collecting and analysing national data. A gap in diagnostic services within the NHS was identified, with research showing that access to these services was often poor. Physiological Sciences are fundamental in the diagnosis, monitoring, treatment and delivery of ongoing management for many major conditions. They deliver over 10 million tests a year across eight main modalities.
Following the publication of the guidance document “Development Framework for PS Networks” in 2023, 16 physiological science networks started to develop across the country; including within the Midlands region.
The Midlands Physiological Science Network aims to provide a structure to bring services together, they will be key to bringing service integration to better improve value of healthcare.
Speakers at the event shared insight around the important role of the networks and why they were key to bringing service integration.
Nathan Hall, the Deputy Director of Diagnostics Physiological Science at NHSE National said: “As a national lead, I'm really pleased that the Midlands have now got up to the stage where they're establishing a formal network that's going to be a help with this drive to improve Physiological sciences.
"We maybe haven't focused on this group of services enough in our work to transform and improve NHS diagnostic services. There's a clear case for why we need to improve and change these services and we are starting to make progress. A few years ago, nobody was thinking about this group of services, nobody was that interested. There is real interest now and a national focus on these services and progress is beginning to be made.”
Nathan also highlighted the importance of addressing the poor waiting times and barriers to accessing services, with the need to develop community diagnostic centres one of the key ways he feels this could be achieved.
Nathan adds: “Developing community diagnostic centres and primary and community care settings is a big opportunity for physiological science over the next few years. If we think about services like audiology or services like echocardiography and other cardiac diagnostics, respiratory diagnostics, there's a real need to expand capacity, but there’s no reason why these services should be just based within hospitals. We can deliver these services outside of hospital as well, that’s a major kind of transformation opportunity, it is shifting these services closer to the patient.”
Network leaders will continue to meet at national level monthly meetings to hear about the national and local progress. There will also be a national exercise taking place later next year, where all physiological networks will be assessed against a maturity matrix to identify their early development.