Radiographers vote to accept pay offer

Radiographers in Derry have joined their colleagues across the North in accepting the latest pay offer made to public-sector workers.

Cora Regan, the Northern Ireland national officer for the Society of Radiographers (SoR), said: “Almost three-quarters (73%) of SoR respondents said that they were willing to accept the current offer.  

“Make no mistake: this response does not reflect genuine enthusiasm for the offer, nor does it suggest that it meets the needs of our members in Northern Ireland. 

“However, now, as we start the 2024-25 pay review, our members will at least be at the same starting point as their colleagues in England.”

Ms Regan said Radiography professionals supported nine out of 10 patients in Health and Social Care in 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,” she explained. 

“But Health and Social Care (HSC) is struggling to recruit and retain radiographers. Radiography department vacancy rates are between 13%  and 23% in Northern Ireland’s hospitals.  

“Even with this new pay offer, our members will be paid considerably less than radiographers in the Republic of Ireland, where the starting salary for a Band 5 radiographer will still be more than £5,000 higher than in Northern Ireland. If radiography professionals living near the border can work in a hospital 20 minutes’ drive away and earn £5,000 more, why would they choose to work in Northern Ireland? 

“As a result of the shortage of radiographers, 188,850 people in Northern Ireland – nearly 10% of the population – are now waiting for a diagnostic test. Of these, almost two-thirds – 60% – were waiting more than nine weeks for a test.  And a shocking 32% – one in three – were waiting more than six months for a test.

“This wait means that treatment such as radiotherapy is delayed and cases become more complex. For some patients, even a two-week delay – let alone six months – can mean the difference between life and death,” said Ms Regan.

The SoR representative said radiographers needed more than a pay offer that was “too little, too late”.

She added: “We need long-term budget planning for health – with a priority on investing in workforce recruitment and retention. Only then will we have an offer that is worth accepting with genuine enthusiasm.  

“Our members deserve better. Our patients deserve better.”