The U.K. Society of Radiographers (SoR) has criticized efforts by the government and the National Health Service (NHS) of England to address an ongoing shortage of therapeutics radiographers, warning that the availability of cancer treatment could be negatively affected because not enough students are being trained.
Half of patients diagnosed with cancer undergo radiotherapy as part of their treatment, according to the SoR, and this is expected to increase to 6 out of 10 patients by 2025. Although NHS England's Cancer Care Radiotherapy Upgrade program has committed 130 million pounds to radiotherapy technology and equipment, it does not mention the staff needed to perform the treatments, the SoR said.
"Despite acknowledging that more needs to be done to encourage young people to consider a career in therapeutic radiography, Health Careers, the government agency responsible for promoting recruitment to professional roles in the NHS, just isn't doing enough, particularly compared to the millions of pounds being spent on television advertising and social media campaigns to recruit more nurses," said SoR Chief Executive Officer Richard Evans in a statement released by the society.
