Cancer Research U.K. has become the latest organization to urge the government to set aside more funding to increase the number of radiographers. It's called for a 45% expansion over the next decade to ensure adequate staffing for cancer services in the National Health Service (NHS).
Additional investment of 142 million to 260 million pounds (157.3 million to 288.1 million euros) will be needed, according to Cancer Research U.K. That level of expenditure would mean an extra 2,591 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in diagnostic radiography on top of the expected growth of 4,158 FTE, the organization said. What's more, staffing in therapeutic radiography would need to increase by an extra 1,281 FTE beyond the expected increase of 672 FTEs.
"The diagnosis, treatment and support of people living with cancer relies on a range of skilled NHS staff conducting specialist tasks such as performing and reporting on diagnostic tests and providing different forms of treatment and support," Cancer Research U.K. wrote in a release dated 13 October. "Ensuring that the NHS has enough skilled staff, now and in the future, is therefore a vital part of fulfilling the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan and improving outcomes for cancer patients."
The Society of Radiographers, which recently also called on the U.K. government to budget for more than 4,000 new radiography staff positions, said it contributed to the Cancer Research U.K. report.
