adminTEHRAN (Tasnim) – Tens of thousands of British patients will miss out on scans on Tuesday as NHS radiographers join consultants and junior doctors on strike.
Members of the Society of Radiographers (SoR) began a 24-hour walkout at 8 am, in 37 trusts across England, over pay.
It will coincide with a second day of action by junior doctors and consultants in the British Medical Association (BMA), which has brought planned care in the NHS to a standstill, The Evening Standard reported.
The strike by radiographers is expected to significantly restrict access to key diagnostic tests and could lead to longer waits in A&E, hospital bosses warned.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said, “Thousands of patients are at risk of not getting the scans and x-rays they need, this will include non-urgent activity such as some fracture clinics and GP walk ins also being cancelled and rebooked due to staff shortages with patients asked to come back for their x-ray on another day if it is not urgent.”
Consultants, junior doctors and radiographers will hold a rally from 1 pm on Tuesday near Manchester Central, where the Conservative Party conference is taking place.
Leandre Archer, head of industrial relations at the SoR, is expected to say that radiographers are “struggling to make ends meet while the cost of living soars” and cannot afford childcare.
The SoR claims it has seen a 32 percent real-terms fall in income since 2008, with staff shortages causing burnout.
