Introduction to the HSE, Hospitals and Staff

What is the HSE?

• the health service executive is irelands publicly funded organisation responsible for delivering health support, and social care services to all residents of Ireland

• It operates under the Department of Health and functions as the largest employer in the state, with a workforce of over 150,000 people, including healthcare professionals, support workers, and administrators

• Provides comprehensive health services, including hospital care, primary and community care, mental health support and supports for older adults and those with disabilities

What is the structure of the HSE?

The HSE was established in 2005 and replaced previous regional health boards, consolidating services under a single body. It is organised into national services, including seven hospital groups and several community health organisations, with a move toward six integrated health regions

What is the Mission of the HSE?

The mission is to support the population with high-quality, compassionate care and ensure accessible, equitable healthcare for everyone in Ireland.

What are the values and vision of the HSE?

The HSE is driven by the values of care, compassionate, trust, and learning. It promotes accountability, innovation, transparency, and continuous improvements in health services.

What are the Roles in the X-Ray department?

• Support side - cleaners, nurses, admin, students

• Radiography structure

• Medical side

What is the Radiology Clincal Director?

• Clinical leadership from a radiography perspective

• Usually a consultant radiologist - lead consultant radiologist in dept.

• Responsible for all radiology doctors in the department

• Provides clinical leadership to department

• Roles in planning, staffing and management of resources

• Works closely with the RSM

What is the Radiology Services Manager (RSM)?

• Radiographer

• Works closely with the clinical director

• Responsible for all radiography staff in the department

• Provides leadership to the radiography team

• Roles in planning, staffing and management of resources

 

What is the deputy RSM?

• Day to day organisation - less clinical in RSM

• Radiographer

• Sometimes called “RSM 1”

• Works closely with the RSM

• Usually the point of contact for radiographers in the department

• Roles include planning, managing resources, organisation of the day to day running of the department such as rosters

 

What is the Radiologist?

• Registrars, Fellows, Consultants

• Responsible for the image reporting, approving requests and setting imaging protocols

• We don’t need them to take the scan, their job is understanding and reading the scans

• Work closely with radiographers in areas such as interventional radiology and fluoroscopy in which they physically perform the examination and direct the use of the x-rays

Who are the Radiology Nurses?

• Work in the procedure based areas of the radiology department

• Patient care pre and post procedure

• IV cannulation, sedation, medication delivery

• Assist Radiologists during fluoroscopy and interventional  procedures

• Restocking

• Set up sterile trolleys, handling instruments etc

Who are the Health care assistants (HCA) and Radiography Assistants?

• Different roles in different departments - talking to patients making sure all the paperwork is being filled out

• Aid radiographers in moving patients

• Stock radiography rooms

• Infection control and cleaning

• Chaperoning ultrasound scans

• Preparing patients prior to MRI and CT exams

• May be trained in IV cannulation

• RAs may be trained in radiography specific roles and can help the radiographer position

Who are the Medical Physicists and Clinical Engineers?

• quality control”

• New equipment must be checked

• Radiology department may have own medical physicists or use general hospital physicists

• Quality control of equipment - annual testing, commissioning and acceptance testing of new equipment

• Medical physicists involves with Radiation and MRI safety certification

• Clinical Engineering usually separate department

 

Who is the Reception and Admin Staff?

Reception and Admin Staff

• Paperwork is so important to be done correctly!!

• Upload GP referrals and create patient files

• Update patient information

• Schedule patient appointments

• Check in and registration

• Administration and queries

• Send reports to GPs

• RIS/PACS - request and upload patients prior images and reports

• Much more…

 

Stroke Units

**FAST - Face Arms Speech Time

• Patients who have had a known or suspected stroke

• Allows for fast specialist treatment

• Specialist staff including nurses, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists

• Patients often referred for CT/MRI (just to name a few!)

• Rehabilitation and recovery

Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) Department

**Video fluoroscopy swallowing study

• Assess, diagnose and treat people with communication difficulties

• Include problems with speech, understanding and using language fluency, voice and the social uses of language

• Also help people with swallowing and feeding difficulties

• Works with radiographers during videofluoroscopy  examinations - live fluoro exam watching how the patient swallows the food coated in barium

 

Occupational Health

• Health checks of staf