‘Why I Volunteer for the British Society of Echocardiography Resources Committee’

by Tiago Silva
Quality Lead Echocardiographer, Xyla Elective Care

As an independent provider committed to clinical excellence, we’ve always prided ourselves on our contributions to the development of best practice in both its community and applications.

In a time where the NHS faces major pressure points across numerous areas, ensuring clinical staff have access to informative resources and examples of best practice is crucial for tackling these issues head-on.

Our Quality Lead Echocardiographer, Tiago Silva, has recently joined the British Society of Echocardiography Resources Committee to aid this very cause and has reflected on what has been an enlightening and rewarding post to fill.

“I have worked as an Echocardiographer for seven years now. As most of my colleagues (past, and present) know, I am very passionate about excellence and quality in echo, as I firmly believe it is the standard of our work that will define the level of care we deliver to our patients. We owe it to them to always deliver the highest standard possible, at all times. That is only possible if we invest in our training and skills; but also if the materials and knowledge to do so are made available to all.

It was this passion that initially led me to pursue my current role as Quality Lead in Echocardiography for Xyla Elective Care, a position created to standardise and uphold our high standard of care across all our clients. It is this same passion that led me to volunteer for the BSE’s Membership Resources Committee.

The BSE, and the Membership Resources Committee in particular, aims to provide members with the information, knowledge, and examples of best practice to deliver the best echo services possible.

This is done by creating and maintaining a repository of information, accessible to all members; this includes various templates for business cases, job descriptions or research proposals (to name a few). These are all tried and tested, with the goal of helping and making all our lives easier by not having to spend the little time we have creating these elements from scratch.

So, when I recently became aware that the Committee was looking for volunteers and given that the Committee’s purpose aligns so well with my own vision and values, I was very excited and did not hesitate to confirm my interest.

This committee gives me the possibility to work alongside colleagues from across the country, with different backgrounds, responsibilities, experiences, and a common goal of creating and sharing content to support us all in elevating our practice and delivering the best care possible.

This is an invaluable opportunity, as it gives me a chance to share my experience and knowledge and have a larger impact on the daily lives and practices of echocardiographers. It was mostly through the BSE’s educational resources, published guidelines and recommendations that I started to consolidate my echo knowledge and expertise when I started as an Echocardiographer. This is now my way of trying to give something back to society, and to the echo community in general.

I see this as a great prospect for professional growth, working with all these amazing professionals, each bringing their own individual vision and knowledge to the table.

Being a part of this Committee, it is a great way to show Xyla’s commitment to quality for the wider echo community. Currently, as we are all aware, pressures from the NHS are at an all-time high, and this coupled with limited staffing leads to a significant number of NHS departments using locum staff from various recruitment companies or service providers.

I am proud to work for a company that focuses and invests in the quality of the work provided, not just in the number of scans performed or staff deployed, highlighting that we take this commitment seriously. “