Derry radiographers join public sector strike

Radiographers across the North joined today's large-scale public sector strike action.

The Society of Radiographers (SoR) will be on strike for 12 hours, from 8.00am to 8.00pm on Thursday, January 18.  

Cora Regan, Northern Ireland national officer for the Society of Radiographers, said they were "calling for the pay rise necessary to stop the brain drain from the profession and to ensure that HSC waiting lists do not continue to increase."

She added: "Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, has indicated that money is available to increase public-sector pay, and is using it as bait to try to entice politicians back to Stormont. However, 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.

"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.

"But levels of pay that have fallen behind other parts of the UK and the Republic of Ireland mean that too few radiographers are being recruited – and many are leaving to work elsewhere. In Scotland, radiographers are now paid 12 per cent more than in Northern Ireland," said Ms Regan.

She added: “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.” 

As a result, 188,850 people in Northern Ireland – nearly 10 per cent of the population – are now waiting for a diagnostic test. This wait means that treatment such as radiotherapy is delayed and cases become more complex – and, for some patients, even a two-week delay can mean the difference between life and death. 

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

Ms Regan said radiography professional need to be offered "considerably better pay and conditions" if they are to be retained in hospitals and "avoid patient waiting lists growing even longer than they are already". 

She added: "The HSC 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. 

"There also needs to be investment in undergraduate and postgraduate training, as well as 'earn as you learn' apprenticeship schemes. 

“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.”