Ms Hannah Wallington, Level 3 Project Manager for the British Society of Echocardiography (BSE), provides an update on the progress of our exciting new pilot project, which aims to rollout a series of scientist-led clinics across the UK, and explains how your insight and ideas could be crucial.
Following our announcement last month, momentum is building behind the Level 3 pilot.
Level 3 was designed to facilitate the widespread, safe adoption of physiologist and scientist-led clinics across the UK, and we are thrilled to share the progress our pilot sites are making.
The sites are currently in the planning phase required to establish these new services.
This includes mapping out clinic slots and drafting their local standard operating procedures. Simultaneously, the nominated scientists have started their Applied Pathophysiology module at Swansea University. This training is the first stage equipping them with the advanced clinical assessment skills necessary to open their new clinics.
To ensure no-one works in isolation, we are coming together as a community of practice this month.
This meeting will allow our site leads to connect, share their early operational learnings, swap draft documentation and support one another with the academic course.
Looking ahead to the end of July, the BSE will host a full meeting of the Level 3 Steering Committee. This meeting will bring together all the vital professional societies, funders and patient advocacy organisations that have been instrumental in helping us shape Level 3. Their combined expertise ensures that the project’s governance is robust, ready to provide a solid evidence base for a future nationwide rollout.
We want to take this opportunity to thank our membership for your continued support of Level 3.
The valuable insights and aspirations you shared in the BSE Workforce Survey directly highlighted the lack of a clear progression pathway for senior clinicians - a gap that has driven some of our most experienced echocardiographers out of the NHS.
Level 3 remains a collaborative effort for the entire echo community. If your department has already established successful scientist-led services or if you have insight, existing policies or operating procedures that you believe could benefit our pilot sites, please share them with us. You can email your resources and tips to [email protected].