Shortages of radiology and oncology staff putting cancer patients at risk, college warns

Patients in the UK with cancer are at risk from “devastating” effects of shortfalls of key radiology and oncology staff, leading specialists have warned.

The Royal College of Radiologists said that current workforce problems were “unsustainable” and that every month delayed cancer treatment raised the risk of death by around 10%. It highlighted service heads’ concerns for safe patient care, high levels of staff stress and burnout, affecting retention, a growing reliance on staff from overseas, a worrying use of expensive locums, and regional inequalities in the ability to deliver lifesaving cancer care.

The college published two census reports on 9 June that were based on surveys completed by every clinical director and head of service in the UK: one examining the state of clinical radiology in 2021 and the other clinical oncology.1

Jeanette Dickson, president of the college, …