External Liaison & Communications

This year the external liaison and communications subcommittee have prioritised the development of promotional and training DVDs that provides an overview of IAFR, the UK Forensic Radiography Response team and gives a training reference for current UKFRRT members.

By the attendance of committee members at Local Resilience team meetings and events, we aim to raise awareness of the capability of the response team for immediate deployment to a mass fatality incident in the UK and overseas.

It is anticipated that a further 50 radiographers will be trained for the response team during 2009/10 in mine with the Home Office plan.

An online survey will be sent to all IAFR and SCoR members and all UK radiography departments to assess current standards in forensic radiography. In addition radiology service managers will be contacted to raise the awareness of forensic radiography imaging standards in line with guidance published by IAFR and SCoR in March 2008.

It is crucial that the committee is aware of what members want. Therefore a brief online survey will be sent out shortly to find out exactly what you want and ensure that funds are allocated appropriate according to the needs of members.

Merchandise is an important tool in the promotion and marketing of IAFR and the subcommittee will finalise what merchandise will be available for members or for sale. 

IAFR is currently in a position to fund an IAFR member to attend the American Academy of Forensic Sciences annual conference in February 2010. A competition will be launched in which all members (except committee members) will be invited to submit a report. Full details of this competition will be published in due course on the website and in Synergy magazine and results of the competition will be announced at the September 2009 IAFR conference. In addition to this, a committee member will also be partially funded to attend and promote the services of IAFR at this international event. 

With advances in technology the majority of communication to members takes place via email and the website. However, it is still considered important that members receive hard copies of the annual plan and together with news to update them of progress made by the committee.

Finally, we continue to strive for the co-ordinated release of radiographers to attend deployments. Discussions continue with the Home Office to establish a national agreement for the release of radiographers in a way that supports the radiographer and their employer.

Emily Faircloth

Chair, External Liaison, Promotion and Communications Subcommittee

International Association of Forensic Radiographers.