Keele University’s School of Health and Rehabilitation has officially opened a brand new radiography suite on campus.

The purpose-built facility will be used to train the next generation of radiographers on Keele’s BSc Radiography programme - which is about to welcome its second cohort of students following a successful launch in 2017 - consists of a spacious 38m2 X-ray room with surrounding observation room, student study spaces and changing area. Siemens Healthineers supplied the Siemens Multix Fusion fully digital X-ray machine.

Keele’s undergraduate radiography programme was accredited by both the Health and Care Professions Council and the Society and College of Radiography in June 2017 - and was the first radiography programme to be accredited in the UK since 1996.

Working with the University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) NHS Trust, the curriculum was developed to meet the demand for radiographers - who are in short supply in the Midlands region. Students on the programme will now benefit from practical teaching in a dedicated X-ray suite on the Keele University campus.

Professor Anand Pandyan, Head of the School of Health and Rehabilitation at Keele, comments:

“The School of Health and Rehabilitation, in partnership with our local NHS Trusts, was approved to run a three-year BSc (Hons) Radiography (Diagnostic Imaging) programme in 2017. This programme of study was specifically designed to meet the regional workforce needs and is likely to contribute to meeting the wider national need. The training of our radiographers benefits from the substantial support from both our local NHS partners and industry.

“In order to enhance the educational experience of students on our radiography degree we have invested around half a million pounds in a state of the art X-ray suite. The suite allows students to prepare for the clinical environment in a safe and secure manner through enactment of real world scenarios.”

Students on the radiography programme undertake clinical placements in local hospitals within a 50-mile radius, including UHNM Trust locations, Leighton, Princess Royal (Telford), Royal Shrewsbury, and Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt in Oswestry. Local clinical partners also provide valuable lecturers from the Advanced Practitioner and Medical Physics experts.

In the first year of the programme, practical teaching took place at the UHNM Royal Stoke Hospital in an X-ray room, whilst building of the new dedicated X-ray facility on the Keele University campus took place.

Dr Desiree O’Leary, Programme Lead for Radiography comments:

“We are extremely excited to open this X-ray suite for our students and staff. This will be an invaluable addition to our teaching, and being on-site at Keele will help to enhance the structure of the student's learning. Additionally this suite, in conjunction with our Digital Health Hub, will allow student learning to be individually paced in preparation for multiple clinical eventualities.”