Altnagelvin radiographers to strike again in January

188,850 patients in the North  - almost 10 per cent of the population - are currently waiting for a diagnostic test. 

According to the Society of Radiographers (SoR), this situation has been caused because too few radiographers being recruited or trained.

Cora Regan, Northern Ireland national officer for the Society of Radiographers, said this wait meant that treatment such as radiotherapy was being delayed meaning cases became more complex. "For some patients, even a two-week delay can mean the difference between life and death," they added.

It has also emerged that SoR members in Derry's Altnagelvin Hospital and across the North are planning further strike action early in the New Year. Radiographers previously went on strike for 48 hours in September. 

Ms Regan said: "We hope that the discussions at Stormont between the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, and the main political parties will reach a constructive conclusion. If there is no progress, however, our members will be going out on strike on Thursday 18 January. 

"Radiography professionals support nine out of 10 patients in Health and Social Care Northern Ireland. They work in diagnostic services, carrying out X-rays, MRI and CT scans, and in therapeutic services, planning and delivering radiotherapy to cancer patients. 

“Going out on strike is a difficult decision, especially during the winter months. But if we want to avoid facing an ever-worsening crisis in HSC hospitals every winter, then we need to do something now to improve the recruitment and retention of radiographers.  

“Our members tell us that they regularly work over and above their contracted hours. Many departmental managers now automatically rota radiographers for overtime – rather than asking for overtime on a voluntary basis – as it’s the only way they can make sure there’s enough staff available to care for patients," said Ms Regan.

She added that radiography professionals needed to be offered "considerably better pay and conditions if we want to be able to keep them in our hospitals – and avoid patient waiting lists growing even longer than they are already.”

Ms Regan said: "Any pay offer for public-service workers – including those in healthcare – must be removed from negotiations related to the return of the Northern Ireland assembly.

“The secretary of state for Northern Ireland has indicated that the public-service pay disputes should be resolved, and that there is money available. Healthcare workers should not be used as bargaining chips in a political game.”

"Radiographers in Northern Ireland are the lowest paid in the UK. In Scotland, radiographers are now paid 12 per cent more than in Northern Ireland. Even in England, where SoR members have taken strike action to demand better pay and conditions, a radiographer’s starting salary is more than £1,300 higher than it would be in Northern Ireland. 

“The pressure to increase working hours, coupled with low pay, means that many radiography professionals are leaving Northern Ireland – or the profession itself – and they are not being replaced in adequate numbers," said Ms Regan.

The SoR said the HSC (Health and Social Care) could reduce waiting lists, save lives and save taxpayers’ money by offering a fair starting salary for radiography professionals, as well as a move to restore pay levels for current staff over several years, from the 2023-24 pay award onwards.  

It is also calling for investment in undergraduate and postgraduate training, as well as “earn as you learn” apprenticeship schemes.  

Ms Regan concluded: “Radiographers are key to the transformation of health services in Northern Ireland.

We believe that these measures will dramatically cut waiting lists, thus improving patients’ care, boosting the wellbeing of radiographers and saving the HSC millions in agency and outsourcing costs.  

"Our members deserve better. Our patients deserve better.”