Radiographer strikes set to take place outside Chichester hospital next week

Among them will be radiographers working in West Sussex, who are due to demonstrate outside St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester on Tuesday and Wednesday (July 25 and 26).

Although the strike lasts from 8am on Tuesday to 8am on Thursday, the demonstrators will be concentrating on periods with the heaviest traffic: 8am to 10am, and then again from 3pm to 5pm.

Industrial Relations Rep Alun Beard said Radiographers are a vital, if often unappreciated, part of many patients’ experience with the NHS; professionals who, by doing their job well, help keep the provision of healthcare smooth and efficient.

"We are pretty much the busiest department in a hospital,” he explained. “The vast majority of patients who come into a hospital will pass through imaging at some point, whether that’s just for an x-ray, or a CT scan or an MRI scan or an ultrasound.”

For Mr Barber and his colleagues, the protest is all about drawing attention to the vital services they provide, bringing government departments to the table for a discussion about low pay and long hours.

"There aren’t enough of us, for one thing, and that’s because there’s so little incentive. You’re asking people to spend a lot of money and time – it’s an intense three year course – to go into a job that’s very stressful, with long hours and horrible shift patterns, for pay that’s far below where it should be. We haven’t kept pace with inflation, or the cost of living. We’re making a lot less than we deserve.”

Ultimately, their aims align with those of their colleagues across the health sector: better pay, better conditions, and greater recognition of the sacrifices made over the last three years. “This isn’t a decision we’ve come to lightly,” Mr Barber said. “And none of us expect a solution overnight, but what we’d all like to see is a plan of action. There needs to be a vision for how to fix things; a better pay package to retain people in the job, because turnover is so high; we need proper workforce planning; and we need investment.”

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