Diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy professionals who are members of the Society of Radiographers will be taking industrial action on Monday, 20 October.

Radiology departments and cancer treatment centres will be affected by strikes for four hours from 9am - 1pm. Emergency and urgent care will continue to be provided but pre-booked appointments and procedures may be affected.

Radiographers will be working to rule for the remainder of the week. This will include taking scheduled breaks and not working unpaid overtime.

“Radiographers who work in the NHS in the four countries of the UK will take part in the action,” said Richard Evans, the society’s chief executive officer.

“This is the first time since 1982 that radiographers have gone on strike over pay and there is the possibility of more action in the future. The anger that they and other NHS workers feel is very strong.”

Strike action is being taken by members of the Society and many other NHS trade unions because of an ongoing pay freeze. The government rejected a recommended 1% pay rise for the current year and has said that there will be no increase in 2015. The pay freeze will have been imposed for four out of five years.

“The last thing that radiographers want is to hurt the people that they serve. Steps have been taken to minimise the impact on patients. This disagreement between NHS staff and the government has been going on for a long time and radiographers have lost patience with an employer that they feel does not value the hard work that they do,” Richard Evans commented.

"If there is no improvement in pay, there is a real concern that more radiographers will leave the profession for another career, making current shortages worse. Patients will have to wait even longer to be seen than they do now.

"Also, radiography needs to attract students to replace the people who retire or leave the profession every year. There are fears that if pay continue to fall in value, young people will not consider a career that requires three to four years of intensive training."