Global teleradiology and specialist consultancy company, VET.CT has launched a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of radiation safety in veterinary practice, providing a comprehensive suite of free resources and real-life case studies to support veterinary teams.
The campaign champions the health and safety of people and patients with the use of ionising radiation in diagnostic imaging. VET.CT has created the X-Pert Radiation Safety Centre, with free downloadable toolkits for both small animal and equine practice, including positioning guides, top tips, chemical restraint protocols, and a series of case studies with equine and small animal clinics, including Pennard Vets.
Dr Victoria Johnson, CEO and radiologist, says, “Radiation safety breaches represent a significant health and safety incident and a risk to the health of veterinary team members and their patients. Despite this, we know that breaches are not uncommon in clinical practice (Epp and Waldner, 2012). To help meet the challenge of improving safety in busy practice workflows, VET.CT has created a comprehensive suite of practical resources to support veterinary teams in applying best practice to ensure the health of their personnel and patients. We have also partnered with clinics from around the world, including GP, equine and specialist hospitals, to provide some great case studies of how the principles can be applied in practice.”
Deborah Mount, Radiographer at Pennard Vets, highlighted the collective effort involved, “The importance of teamwork and accountability is recognised across all areas of the practice, especially where patient and personnel safety is concerned. While clear roles are important for smooth workflows it’s also important to be ready and willing to be flexible and support other team members where needed. It’s not about the individual – we take collective pride in a good day’s imaging.”
Dr Johnson also highlighted how good imaging practice results in improved efficiency with time and cost savings; “Good radiation safety practice also encourages habits that lead to better diagnostics. We know that taking extra care to ensure good patient preparation, positioning and optimising settings results in fewer exposures and higher quality diagnostic images for more accurate interpretation. This all contributes to improved efficiency, patient management and outcomes, greater satisfaction, and of course, happier owners.”
The X-Pert radiation safety resources for small animal practice can be accessed here and the equine resources here.
