Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

NHSLatest NewsLabour turnoverRecruitment & retentionRetention of staff

Shortage of radiologists could lead service to ‘collapse’

by Ashleigh Webber 23 Aug 2018
by Ashleigh Webber 23 Aug 2018

Radiology services could be on the brink of collapse if more is not done to fill vacant posts and train more consultants across the UK, a senior radiologist has warned.

A shortage of senior radiologists has resulted in staff experiencing a 30% increase in their workloads between 2012 and 2017, yet only 15% more radiologists were recruited during that time.

Staff shortages

Doctors and nurses to be excluded from Tier 2 visa cap

How employers need to embrace flexible working to retain talent

According to the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), the vacancy rate for consultant posts has increased from 9% to more than 10% in two years. In Northern Ireland, this rate is as high as 18%.

The staff shortage has led to NHS hospitals having to outsource analysis of scans to private companies or pay for their staff to work overtime – resulting in a £116 million total annual bill.

Dr Nicola Strickland, president of the RCR, told the BBC that the situation was worrying. “I do really feel the entire service will collapse if something isn’t done about training more radiologists in the UK to fill all the vacant consultant posts, so we have to get imaging properly staffed and enough radiologists trained to make up this deficit.”

The training body said extra funding was needed to encourage more people to train as radiologists. The Scottish government has vowed to create 50 additional training places over the next five years, though the RCR in Scotland said 25 more trainees were needed per year.

In June, the RCR predicted that the NHS was also short of oncologists – doctors who treat cancer.

It said that, without investment, it will be short of 247 full-time consultants by 2022 – more than a fifth of the number required to treat the growing number of cancer patients. Seven per cent of NHS clinical oncology posts were vacant in 2017, up from 5% the year before.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the number of clinical radiologists in England had increased by 29% since 2010.

“We want to see numbers continue to rise and over the next three years we are also putting in place more training for doctors to specialise in clinical radiology,” the spokesperson told the BBC.

Ashleigh Webber
Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is editor at OHW+ and HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support. Prior to joining Personnel Today in 2018, she covered the road transport sector for Commercial Motor and Motor Transport magazines, touching on some of the employment and wellbeing issues experienced by those in road haulage.

previous post
Number of EU migrants arriving in UK lowest since 2012
next post
Workers’ rights will remain unchanged in ‘no deal’ Brexit

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Employees resigning in 2022: Survey shows ‘great resignation’...

24 May 2022

NHS should upskill admin staff to reduce waiting...

23 May 2022

City firms pledge to improve social mobility in...

20 May 2022

One in five employers planning ‘no jab no...

19 May 2022

Nurses leaving due to pressure and workplace culture

18 May 2022

Number of working people with disability up 1.3...

17 May 2022

Wages fall 1.2% behind inflation as cost of...

17 May 2022

Lack of flexibility pushes half of women to...

16 May 2022

EasyJet joins battle for cabin crew with £1,000...

16 May 2022

How to build a compelling talent attraction strategy...

12 May 2022
  • Strathclyde Business School expands its Degree Apprenticeship offer in England PROMOTED | The University of Strathclyde is expanding its programmes...Read more
  • The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls PROMOTED | The Great Resignation continues unabated...Read more
  • Navigating the widening “Skills Confidence Gap” in 2022, and beyond PROMOTED | Cornerstone OnDemand conducted a global study...Read more
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+