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The Specialist Paediatric Radiotherapy Radiographer Meeting the needs of the patient, their carers and the radiotherapy service Lucy Hume BSc†, Catherine Holborn †Senior Paediatric Radiographer, St James Institute of Oncology, Leeds Senior Lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University. Paediatric radiotherapy is a complex process for the patient and their family. The radiotherapy department is an unfamiliar, mostly adultorientated environment and this can be a daunting experience. Paediatric patients make up only 1% ¹ of the total workload of radiotherapy services. For this reason it is not a realistic vision to have a dedicated radiotherapy centre just for children. However, it is recommended that radiotherapy centres treating children in the UK appoint a lead paediatric radiographer². Through a review of current literature and personal reflections on the development of a specialist paediatric radiographer post, our aim was to identify the important aspects of such a role and discuss how these serve to address the needs of the patient, their family/carers and the radiotherapy service. Key roles of the paediatric radiographer Communication and information giving Education and development Patient support and continuity of care Play therapy The Role and responsibilities The national group Specialist paediatric Radiotherapy Radiographer Interest (SPRRIG) has contributed to the ‘Good practice guide to paediatric radiotherapy’³. They list the key duties of the paediatric radiographer to include: •Liaise with multi disciplinary team (MDT) •Be the key worker for the child and their family throughout planning and treatment •Provide information for the child and their family •Have overall responsibility for advising age appropriate facilities and ensuring working practices are developed and maintained •Provide education and information to staff regarding radiotherapy for children. The Specialist Paediatric Radiotherapy Radiographer Meeting the needs of the patient, their carers and the radiotherapy service Lucy Hume BSc†, Catherine Holborn †Senior Paediatric Radiographer, St James Institute of Oncology, Leeds Senior Lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University. Communication and information giving •Improved communication between the MDT has shown an improvement in the experience for the child and their parents⁴. •The paediatric radiographer should meet early in the discussion for the need of radiotherapy - for assessment of the need/level of support. •Information should always be given in a clear, honest manner, it must be passed on in both verbal and written forms, using both medical and non medical information⁵. •This then should be passed on to the child in an easy to understand, positive language using age appropriate information. Play therapy •Preparation for radiotherapy has proven to reduces the need for a GA ³̕⁸̕⁹ . •Play therapy aids in the understanding of procedures. •Orientation of the department and playing with equipment reduces fear and anxiety of necessary procedures ⁵̕⁸̕¹⁰ . •Working with siblings can help them to understand what is happening within the family and to feel included¹¹. •Reducing GA’s benefits the departments as costs decrease as do time needed on set ¹¹̒¹². Patient support and continuity of care •Continuity of care has been highlighted as one area that children and their families greatly benefited from. •By becoming the key worker the paediatric radiographer is the continuity in care and set up during treatment, providing support for both the families and the treatment staff ⁵ and providing a point of contact each day⁶. •They can create an environment where the child feels safe by filling in the separation from parents during medical procedures⁷. •By offering support the radiographer is creating better informed parents during what can be a very stressful time⁸. •Support for a child can be through verbal and non verbal methods which are learnt through experience and developed over time. Education and development Teaching within paediatric radiotherapy is crucial in order to: •Work along side the MDT to help improve staff knowledge and understanding of up and coming cases. •Train new staff and students within the department •Pass on information from national meetings¹³. •Ensure future goals are set to improve the service through long term follow up¹⁴. The Specialist Paediatric Radiotherapy Radiographer Meeting the needs of the patient, their carers and the radiotherapy service Lucy Hume BSc†, Catherine Holborn †Senior Paediatric Radiographer, St James Institute of Oncology, Leeds Senior Lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University. The paediatric radiographers role and perspective The role of a paediatric radiographer plays a small but vital part of a big radiotherapy department. It encompasses many area however the main aim is to provide continuity of care for the whole treatment process. The role is constantly developing to create the optimum service for paediatric patients and their families. By meeting the family early in their journey I can work alongside the paediatric team to decide the best method of aiding and supporting the family during treatment. Being involved with the national group SPRRIG provides me with a link to other paediatric radiographers around the country. The group has set out the key roles of the paediatric radiographer and can provide advice and support for any difficult cases to individual members. References 1. NRAG, National Radiotherapy Advisory Group; Radiotherapy. Developing a world class service for England: Report to Ministers. 2007; www.dh.gov.uk 2. Specialist paediatric radiotherapy radiographer’s interest group (2009) Role of the paediatric Radiographer. Draft copy, Unpublished to date. 3. 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