The radiology team at Musgrove Park Hospital have been recognised for their excellence. The British Society of Interventional Radiology (BSIR) awarded the team 'exemplar status' for their top quality services.

The hospital is the home of interventional radiology in Somerset, treating people all over the county and also some parts of North Devon with the help of the North Devon district hospital. 

Dr Katherine Lewis, a consultant in interventional and cardiovascular radiology, said the exemplar status “recognises the high quality service provided by our interventional radiology colleagues”. She added: “I’m truly thrilled that we’ve gained the exemplar status, it really sets the standard for education and training in our field. 

The team has previously been awarded this status in 2018 although the criteria has become stricter over time,“so it’s an even greater achievement.”

The interventional radiology team works with many different teams across the hospital providing care in the vascular, urology, gastrointestinal and cancer teams to help find the most effective treatments.

Over the last two years the team has introduced a new enhanced care practitioner role, in which the nurses and allied health professionals have trained up to do certain procedures meaning that patients do not need to be in the hospital as much and can spend more of their limited time with their loved ones.

The team has also made some positive clinical improvements too by embracing new technologies such as reducing radiation dose and procedure time significantly.

Despite the size of Musgrove the entire team works tirelessly to ensure the safety of the county. 

A spokesperson said: “The level of interventional radiology service we provide across Somerset is similar to some of the larger, more specialist centres in the UK.”

Musgrove is now looking forward to opening a new hybrid theatre as part of our surgical centre which is due to open in 2025. This will enable more complex combined procedures to take place. It truly is an exciting time for interventional radiology in Somerset.