The problems
First: we are leaking highly skilled workforce
Dr Claire Colebourn, President of the British Society of Echocardiography
The experienced Band 7 echocardiographer is the lynch-pin of every UK NHS echo service, acting as trainers, on-the-ground supervisors and quality assurers. Our data show that, far from recruitment being our major issue, there is a steady drip of senior workforce leaking from the profession. Departments with a high proportion of newly qualified echocardiographers risk a gradual decline in quality without adequate senior presence, the ‘rookie factor’ is simply too high.
Second: echocardiography is an advanced