Lack of radiographers blamed on low wages

LOW wages and a lack of job knowledge are causing a national shortage of trained cancer radiographers, according to research by a Sheffield Hallam University academic.

Senior lecturer in radiotherapy Joanna McNamara went to Canada after being awarded a travel fellowship from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust to study retention rates for trainee radiographers.

Her research found that a poor knowledge of the profession, together with a lack of course fees, led to up to one in three student radiographers dropping out before completing their studies in some

parts of the UK.

In Canada, however, only four per cent fail to graduate.

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Ms McNamara said: "My trip identified some of the key issues why this happens and will lead to further research to hopefully help reverse this trend.

"Although Canada doesn't support radiotherapy students financially through their training, graduate wages are much higher than here in the UK and this has a positive impact on recruitment."