Strike by English Radiographers Over Pay and Staffing Issues Lasts for 2-Days

On Tuesday, thousands of radiologists in England will walk out in protest of the government’s policies regarding pay, hiring, and retention.

Members of the Society of Radiographers (SoR) voted to reject the 5% pay increase proposed by ministers and demanded that negotiations resume after other members of the public sector, including junior doctors, received higher pay offers.

According to the union, more needs to be done to attract or keep employees, and an alarming number of employees are leaving the profession. 37 NHS trusts where members have a mandate to strike will be included in the 48-hour strike, which will begin at 8 am on Tuesday.

These include Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Liverpool University Hospitals, Nottingham University Hospitals, University hospitals Bristol and Weston, and the Royal Marsden cancer hospital in London.

The SoR claimed that radiographers, who perform X-rays, MRI and CT scans, ultrasounds, and breast screenings, as well as radiotherapy for cancer patients, support nine out of ten NHS patients. Radiography is awaiting one million patients.

Employees will provide “life and limb” emergency coverage for patients, which typically entails the same staffing levels as Christmas Day and Boxing Day, according to an agreement reached by union representatives from each trust.

“Voting for strike action was a difficult decision for our members, who care above all about the safety and wellbeing of their patients,” said Dean Rogers, executive director of industrial strategy and member relations for the SoR. The fact that many radiography professionals are experiencing burnout due to low pay and longer hours needs to be brought to light. They are leaving the NHS, and not enough people are taking their place. But they are refusing to talk to us, even though our door is open. If the government wants to cut down on NHS waiting lists and make sure that patients get the care they need, when they need it, then it urgently needs to prioritise the recruitment and retention of radiography professionals. Better is due to our members. Better is due to our patients.

According to the union, many radiographers put in excruciatingly long shifts to ensure patient care was not compromised by a lack of staff. Their physical and mental well-being suffered as a result, as was only natural.

You come to work tired, but you just have to give it your best effort, according to a radiographer who works in a hospital in south London. When it’s all over, you’re broken. When you get home, you are unable to even stand.

According to health secretary Steve Barclay, the pay award for radiologists is final. So that the NHS can relentlessly concentrate on reducing waiting lists and providing for patients, he said, disruptive strikes must end.

The majority of the unions on the NHS Staff Council decided to accept the government’s fair and reasonable offer of a 5% pay increase for 2023–2024 along with two sizeable one-time payments totaling at least £1,655, which will put more money in their pockets right away. Radiographers are among the over a million NHS employees who have already benefited from that pay increase. The NHS recently released its first-ever long-term workforce plan to hire and keep hundreds of thousands more employees. I kindly request that the Society of Radiographers end any strikes because this pay award is final- they said