Breast Radiology Consultant and Mammographers Insourcing

The challenge

In December 2020, the Trust approached Agile to ask for assistance with a Breast Radiology Insourcing Project. A combination of staffing issues, as well as the pandemic, meant the team didn't have the staff to see the high numbers of patients being referred to the Fast-Track clinic. Additional assistance was also needed with Ultrasound Biopsy lists and naturally, it’s very important that these patients are seen quickly.

The solution

The Trust wanted to use their spare capacity across two sites - Solihull and Good Hope - and had room to accommodate the Agile team 7 days a week. Implementation of the project took 2 weeks, the Trust only wanted to work with the highest calibre candidates - NHS Consultants on the Specialist Register - and reviewed CV’s before they were set up with PACS training and a local induction. The project started with a small team of three Consultants, but now we have over ten that are able to cover regular work. This provides a high level of continuity for the Trust and support staff.

The results

• The Agile team have covered 282 sessions and seen over 3 thousand patients and counting

• The Agile team are on-call 7 days a week to deal with any issues

• Agile had weekly calls with the Trust and monthly review meetings to monitor

Such was the success of the initial contract, Agile developed the project to offer further support. In August the Trust began to struggle with Radiography/Mammography cover and so approached Agile for help. We provided a team of three Mammographers that offer support to Solihull, Good Hope and Birmingham Women’s Hospital doing both symptomatic and screening in the static vans in the community.

Feedback from the Trust has been that Agile is playing an important part in the COVID recovery plan.

Testimonial

My experience of working with AGILE over recent months has only been positive! AGILE has supported and provided UHB with an excellent service all throughout the pandemic. The clinical team that AGILE provides is exemplary and our patient feedback is proof of this.
The management team cannot be faulted and is on call seven days a week if we have any problems or issues - we meet on a weekly basis to ensure the smooth running of our service for the weeks ahead. AGILE ensure that our rotas are covered well in advance of clinic dates but have also provided support at short notice.

Sarah Waller - Operational Manager, Endocrinology - University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust