Hospital bosses have warned of significant disruption to the NHS as a result of the radiographers’ strikes and raised fears that wider industrial action in the health service could continue until the general election.
Thousands of radiographers at 37 NHS trusts in England are striking for 48 hours over pay, recruitment and retention. Members of the Society of Radiographers (SoR) rejected the government’s offer of a 5% pay rise and called for talks to reopen after other public sector workers, including junior doctors, were offered more.
Leandre Archer, head of industrial relations at the SoR, said radiographers were taking a stand over the deterioration in patient care resulting from underinvestment. They are seeing people “that are coming in that maybe weren’t terminal [before], are now terminal, because their disease has progressed,” she said.
“If there had been more increases in the radiography workforce, then they would be able to deal with these patients in a more timely manner. We have 13% of the workforce missing. Radiographers are working excessive hours to try and fill that gap.
“That’s causing a massive amount of burnout and fatigue and sickness, and people are actually leaving the profession because they can’t work under the conditions that they’re working. So what we need to see is an increase in pay, so that people will be recruited and retained in the profession.”
She said a 25% real terms pay cut since 2008 meant growing numbers of radiographers can’t afford to feed themselves. “We have highly trained people that are being completely undervalued and not recognised for the amazing work they do.”
Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy, NHS Providers, called on both sides to resume pay talks.
“Patients are at the sharp end again of another strike in the NHS. Many scans and X-rays will have to be rescheduled, piling more pressure on trusts working flat out to cut waiting lists.”
“Trust leaders understand how strongly radiographers and other striking staff feel and why they are taking action. The government and unions must sit down and talk to stop more strikes in the NHS.”
NHS Providers calculates that more than 820,000 routine treatments and appointments have been rescheduled as a result of NHS strikes since December and raised concerns that there appeared to be no end in sight to the strikes.
Earlier Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive at NHS Providers, told the Today programme “I think there’s serious concern that we go on like this for month after month after month. A fear that this could run up to the next general election.”
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But the health secretary, Steve Barclay, said the pay offer would not be improved:
“I want to see an end to disruptive strikes so the NHS can focus relentlessly on cutting waiting lists and delivering for patients.
“Over a million NHS staff, including radiographers, are already benefiting from that pay rise. The NHS also recently published the first ever NHS long-term workforce plan to recruit and retain hundreds of thousands more staff.
“This pay award is final and so I urge the Society of Radiographers to call off strikes.”