A goodbye for now: Richard Evans retires as CEO of the Society of Radiographers after 22 years

As CEO of the Society and College of Radiographers for 22 years, Richard Evans has supported radiographers across the country to provide the best service possible for their patients. 

From playing a pivotal role in SoR flagship events such as UKIO and the National Conference for Radiology Leaders, to helping develop the Quality Standard for Imaging and even being the first person to hear popstar Dua Lipa’s latest single, Richard’s impact has been felt throughout the SoR membership. 

But for all the work that goes into the role of CEO, Richard says he is certain it is the power of the members that gives the SoR its real strength. “I feel immensely fortunate to have chosen radiography as my career,” he says. “Being able to make a difference for people, often at the most difficult and stressful times in their lives, is a privilege. My clinical work finished a long time ago, and my time managing services enabled me to stay connected with patients. Being the CEO of our professional body has meant that making a difference has continued to be my primary motivation.”

As he retires from the role of chief executive officer at the SoR, to be succeeded by Charlotte Beardmore (SoR executive director of professional policy), Richard joins Synergy to look back over the past two decades to consider his proudest moments, his lifelong passion for trade unionism and what he thinks the future of the profession will look like. 

A huge transition

Richard’s initial exposure to radiography came about during his first job after completing secondary school. Richard applied to become a lab technician at University College Hospital (UCH), part of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. After interviewing, he was asked instead to take on a role as porter for the X-ray department. When he saw the work being done by radiographers, his interest was sparked – and in 1980, he applied to the Middlesex Hospital School of Radiography.

Richard’s involvement in the SoR can be traced all the way back to just post qualification in 1982, when he became a member. “It was expected that any newly qualified radiographer would join the SoR, to be part of the professional body,” he says. “I would have joined in any case because I had always seen the value in union membership.”

In 1999, Richard moved into his first leadership role as general manager of radiology at Poole Hospital in Dorset. It was there that he had a few chance encounters with Ann Cattell, then CEO of the SoR, at meetings focused on modernising the NHS workforce. When Ann decided to retire, Richard contacted her to get her thoughts on whether he should apply for the role – she advised him to give it a go. “It felt like a big step to move away from employment in the NHS after 22 years,” he says.

“As with any new job, there was some nervousness about facing up to a new workplace and different challenges, and these feelings were stronger because the non-clinical environment was unknown and the way of working was going to be entirely different. 

“It was a big transition. I had what these days you’d call imposter syndrome! You sit there on the first day and think ‘well, what next?’ In the event, I was warmly welcomed by everyone in the SoR and College of Radiographers team at the time and by the board members in the UK Council and the College Board of Trustees. It didn’t take long before I felt at home in the role of CEO.”

‘My proudest achievements’ 

Looking back, there are a number of projects and initiatives that Richard is proud to have contributed to. Perhaps foremost among these was the part he played in setting up a patient liaison group. Today, that initiative survives at the Patient Advisory Group (PAG), which has been running successfully ever since.

The Patient and Public Liaison Group, as it was then known, was established in 2007 to give patients the opportunity to influence the work of the Society and College and to ensure their views are represented. “I’ve been pleased and proud to remain involved with meetings of the PAG down the years, and I hope to assist them wherever possible,” says Richard. “The idea of listening to the patient voice is now rightly core, not only in the SoR and CoR but across healthcare.

“The patient voice is really embedded at the heart of what we do, and appears in the strategic plans of both the society and the college. That’s been a particular achievement.”

Supporting an evolving profession

Richard has also helped develop the College of Radiographers Industry Partnership Scheme (CoRIPS), a corporate membership concept that supports radiographers to find funding for research projects focused on radiography at any level. 

CoRIPS was inspired by work Richard saw being done by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. Their corporate membership programme for industry supports their charitable foundation, and Richard thought a similar scheme could provide much-needed research funding for SoR members. 

It is a partnership because the companies that supply the technology and consumables that radiographers use every day are really partners in the process of healthcare provision, he says. Relationships with those companies can make a real difference at the service level, and the contacts that radiographers make with colleagues in industry often last for years. “We think CoRIPS is unique and I am particularly proud of the expansion in radiography research that has been made possible by the generous support of our industry partners,” adds Richard.

For justice

Another important part of his role as CEO was as the head of the trade union side to the society, a vital function of the organisation to help radiographers with employment support. 

Richard’s passion for trade unionism began at a young age, but he tells Synergy he can’t put his finger on any specific moment that a belief in collective bargaining firmly appeared. “My mother was a teacher,” he explains. “I think she was a member of the NUT at the time, and I was aware of that growing up, but she wasn’t very preachy about it. I was just aware of it. My own thinking around justice and equity really started developing at school, but my parents were always very encouraging about that, and social liberalism generally. So it was always a positive dialogue.

“It just made sense as I grew up and developed. You’d want to be part of a union, wouldn’t you? Because look at the successes they’ve had campaigning for justice.”

After being hired as a porter at UCH – his employment before training as a radiographer – Richard joined the Confederation of Health Service Employees (CoHSE), a union that would eventually form part of Unison, along with two other public sector unions. 

Richard became chair of the UCH branch of the union, representing members at meetings from the age of just 19. It was during his tenure with CoHSE that Richard first went to negotiating committees on behalf of the union, which “opened his eyes” to how collective bargaining worked with the NHS. 

But over the years, the nature of that power has shifted, he says. The voice of individual professionals within very large unions can tend to get “swallowed up” – but that’s why profession-specific unions such as the SoR can have a particular influence. “Maintaining membership, maintaining relevance, it’s sometimes a struggle,” he continues. “But actually, I think we can show that single union professional models such as the Society of Radiographers are particularly influential, are more able to represent their members and of course bring all the additional benefits of a professional body. That’s a compelling model – not only for our own union, but also for the development of other parts of the movement.”

What next? 

Richard’s next steps call for rest and relaxation. He’s looking forward to spending time with his family, including two grandchildren who have recently joined the Evans clan. 

Retirement will also give him the opportunity to return to wildlife, he says. His plans include getting out into the countryside to enjoy some bird watching, gardening at home and helping out around the local community. Richard’s wife is also a vicar in the Church of England, and he says she already has some ideas of things he can help out with.

And for the society, Richard will be handing over the reigns as CEO to Charlotte Beardmore, the SoR’s longstanding executive director of professional policy.

Under her leadership, members can expect the profession to remain well placed to meet future challenges and opportunities. “I am sure I will miss the many people who I work with and have met in my time,” Richard says. “However, I couldn’t be handing over to a better person. Charlotte will do a great job as CEO and I am looking forward to following the progress of the organisation and our profession in future.”

But before he departs his role, he has one message he wants to leave with the membership: “The importance of saying yes.”

“We don’t always evaluate ourselves as a ‘can do’ profession,” he says. “We tend to see the barriers, the reasons things won’t work. But the profession has a well-deserved reputation for being able to take on massive changes. For example, we wouldn’t have a breast screening programme in the UK if the SoR hadn’t said ‘yes, we can do that’.

“The challenge was whether our profession would accept the concept of assistant practice to provide the workforce for the new programme. The leadership that we showed not only enabled the breast screening to move forward, it also established the concept of career progression, advanced and consultant practice.

“As we face things such as AI, and more rapidly changing technology, the profession is already saying ‘yes – let’s do that and see how we can continue to develop radiography to remain at the heard of care for our patients’.”

Enormous opportunities are still to come for the profession, and every radiographer out there is continually demonstrating their ability to tackle them, led by their professional body and trade unions.