“We have to take a stand”

“It’s a really difficult decision to go on strike, and no member wants to be standing on a picket line,” said Leandre Archer, the Society of Radiographers’ head of industrial relations, speaking from the frontline of a mass rally in Manchester.

“They want to be delivering safe and effective care for their patients. But unfortunately, they have to take a stand because nobody is listening, and the cries for help have been left unanswered by this government.” 

On Tuesday, 3 October, SoR members across England held a 24-hour walkout over the growing workforce crisis facing the profession. 

The strike action, organised by SoR and held alongside the 72-hour doctors’ strike orchestrated by the British Medical Association (BMA), aimed to highlight the pay stagnation, excessive working hours, and the serious staff shortages blighting radiographers. 

As part of the strike action, members of SoR also joined striking doctors for a mass rally in Manchester, held outside the Conservative Party conference, on the day health secretary Steve Barclay made his address to delegates.

Synergy travelled to Manchester to join the rally, and hear from SoR members about why they decided to take strike action. 

“I love my profession and I’m finding it very difficult to see a solid future at the moment, and that really upsets me.” 

Annabelle Judge, a therapeutic radiographer with Royal United Hospitals Bath, took a bus arranged by the BMA for doctors to join her radiography colleagues at the rally. 

She said: “I love my profession and I’m finding it very difficult to see a solid future at the moment, and that really upsets me. 

“I can’t stand and watch that happen without trying to do something to make it better. Watching my colleagues genuinely talk about opportunities elsewhere outside the NHS - people that are incredible radiographers and make such a difference to the NHS - breaks my heart, and I think that needs to stop.” 

Ms Judge, who was the only radiographer on the bus to Manchester, said she was delighted to see NHS professions working together, and that there was a sense of community on the picket lines. 

She added: “We’re not just doing it for us and for our own benefit, we’re doing it for the benefit of everyone in the country. My mum is currently in hospital and the strikes are affecting her, but I believe that the strikes are going to make the situation a lot better for everyone, for healthcare workers and the public.”

The solidarity between doctors and radiographers was clear from the atmosphere during the Manchester rally, as BMA members and SoR members stood side by side in the crowds gathered outside Manchester Central Library. 

“Every patient that comes into the hospital sees a radiographer as a key part of the diagnostic pathway, and I think they need to be valued and paid appropriately.”

Dr Rachel Hubbard, a radiologist based at Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, shared her support for radiologists while attending the BMA rally: “I was so excited, and so pleased that the radiographers came”, she said, “because they’re a huge part of our team. 

“Every patient that comes into the hospital sees a radiographer as a key part of the diagnostic pathway, and I think they need to be valued and paid appropriately.”

Dr Hubbard added: “We’re stronger together than we are apart. What I love about radiology and radiography is that we’re one big family and there’s no hierarchy - we’ve all just got different skill sets, but we use them together for the good of the patient.”

“Our members are struggling to make ends meet while the cost of living soars.”

During the Manchester rally, SoR’s head of industrial relations Ms Archer addressed the gathered crowds as the penultimate speaker of the day. She highlighted the increasingly challenging working conditions radiographers are facing in the NHS, due to staff shortages, excessive hours, and pay stagnation.

“Our members are struggling to make ends meet while the cost of living soars,” she said. “They can’t afford to pay for childcare or even to move out of their parents’ homes. Our members see patients deteriorating on ever-increasing waiting lists.

“They work excessive hours to deal with increasing vacancies. They watch colleagues leaving the NHS, seeking better work and better pay.”

Strike action took place across the country, including University College London Hospitals, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston, and Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, as workers demanded urgent improvements to pay and conditions for the radiography workforce.   

But SoR is also aware of the impact striking can have on the workforce, as radiographers lost a day of pay as a result of the walkout, in the midst of a cost of living crisis. Ms Archer said: “I’m really proud of every single one of our members that are here today and indeed standing on picket lines across the country”.

“A lot of people can’t afford to have a day off, and that says everything."

Her words were echoed by SoR’s President Elect Tom Welton, who also attended the Manchester rally: “A lot of people can’t afford to have a day off, and that says everything. We’re a professional body and we should be able to afford to have one day off, and there’s a lot of people who can’t”.

SoR’s proposals to improve working conditions include the implementation of a modern workforce recruitment and retention plan, improving starting salaries for radiographers. 

“It’s just fair reward for hard, honest work.” 

The Society’s president, Dave Pilborough, added that he feels public support is behind the radiographers. 

“I was out on the picket line this morning in Nottingham, and cars were beeping, staff were coming out and saying hello, we had a consultant come down after finishing a night shift in A&E just to show solidarity. 

“The public are behind us. They know that after all the hard work we put in during Covid that we’re not out here for a bonus. It’s just fair reward for hard, honest work.”