In your article (Record number of people waiting for NHS diagnostic tests in England, 7 June), you quote Marlen Suller of Magentus saying that the solution to ever-increasing diagnostic waiting lists is for the NHS to “make better use of existing capacity, test patients faster, give them clearer information and use financial incentives to drive improvement”.
This implies that diagnostic radiographers – the NHS professionals who carry out diagnostic imaging tests – are simply not working hard enough, or that they would work longer hours if they were offered financial incentive to do so.
This is, at best, a naive misrepresentation of the actual situation. In March 2026, radiographers carried out 2.07m diagnostic imaging tests – the highest number of tests recorded in one month so far.
Radiographers are conducting more tests than ever – despite the fact that the average vacancy rate for radiographers is now 15% and some departments’ vacancy rates are much higher. Radiographers already work overtime to try to meet patient demand – there are, quite simply, no hours left to work safely.
Government attention has been focused on abolishing NHS England and reorganising regional integrated care boards. The alarming side-effect of this is that we’ve seen recruitment freezes in NHS trusts across the country. Many imaging services are shockingly understaffed – and yet trusts are not recruiting to fill the vacant posts. Radiography graduates are leaving university and struggling to find jobs – despite the fact that there are chronic shortages of radiographers in hospitals across the country.
We need a credible government workforce plan, and we’re still waiting for one to materialise. Existing capacity can only be stretched so far – already, our members tell us that they are burning out and leaving the NHS altogether. Without investment in more radiographers, NHS waiting lists will continue to rise inexorably. And it’s the patients who suffer as a result.
Richard Evans
CEO, Society and College of Radiographers
