A damning new report from the Royal College of Radiologists has revealed that patients across Wales are facing dangerous delays to cancer diagnosis and treatment due to a worsening shortage of specialist doctors — with North and West Wales among the worst affected areas in the entire UK.
But for anyone who has been paying attention, this is not new news. It is a crisis that was clearly predicted, extensively documented, and apparently ignored — seven years ago.
The Warning That Was Never Heeded
In November 2018, AberdareOnline reported on findings from the Auditor General for Wales which spelled out in stark terms that radiology services in Wales were under severe and unsustainable pressure. Rising demand — in some areas growing by as much as 15% per year — combined with chronic difficulties recruiting and retaining staff, ageing equipment, and inadequate IT systems were pushing the service towards breaking point.
The Auditor General was explicit: action taken by individual health boards alone would not be enough. National strategic planning was essential. The Welsh Government responded by establishing an Imaging Taskforce and publishing a high-level Statement of Intent.
That was 2018. Statements of intent, it turns out, do not train radiologists.
Where Are We Now?
The Royal College of Radiologists’ latest workforce census makes grim reading. For the first time ever, eight in ten radiology leaders across the UK report that patients’ conditions have directly worsened as a result of staff shortages. Half of all cancer centre leaders say the same.
North and West Wales are identified as having some of the most severe radiologist shortages anywhere in the UK — a particular indictment given that these are predominantly rural areas where patients already face additional barriers to accessing healthcare, and where delayed diagnoses carry the gravest consequences.
Behind every delayed scan is a real person. Anxiously waiting. In some cases, facing a worse outcome because the weeks ticked by and no one with the skills to read their images was available.
A Political Failure Spanning Governments
Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister Natasha Asghar MS has called on the new Health Minister to bring forward an urgent workforce plan to recruit, train and retain radiologists and oncologists. She is right to demand action — but it is worth remembering that this crisis did not appear overnight, and it has deepened under successive Welsh Labour administrations that have had years of clear evidence and repeated warnings at their disposal.
Training a radiologist takes a minimum of five years. If the Welsh Government had acted decisively on the Auditor General’s 2018 report, those radiologists could be working in Welsh hospitals right now. They are not.
The Human Cost
Wales already has some of the worst cancer waiting times in the UK. Patients in the Cynon Valley and across the South Wales Valleys know all too well what it means to wait — for a scan, for a result, for a treatment date — while anxiety mounts and precious time passes.
The Royal College’s report confirms what patients, their families, and frontline NHS staff have known for years: the system is not just under strain. It is failing people.
Seven years ago, the Auditor General called for clear and targeted action. Seven years later, we are still waiting for it — and so, dangerously, are the patients.
Patients put at risk by radiologist shortages
Patients across Wales are facing dangerous delays to cancer diagnosis and treatment because of a worsening shortage of specialist doctors, with North and West Wales among the worst affected areas in the UK, according to alarming new evidence from the Royal College of Radiologists.
The Royal College’s latest workforce census reveals that for the first time, eight in 10 radiology leaders and half of cancer centre leaders across the UK have seen patients’ conditions worsen as a direct result of staff shortages.
The report warns that delays to diagnosis and treatment are becoming increasingly dangerous, particularly in rural communities.
The Royal College identifies North and West Wales as having some of the most severe shortages of radiologists anywhere in the UK.
The report highlights that shortages of cancer specialists are significantly worse in rural areas and warns that workforce shortages are contributing to delays in cancer treatment and diagnostic services.
Natasha Asghar MS, Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care, said:
“These findings from an authoritative Royal College paint an alarming picture of cancer services in the Welsh NHS.
“Patients are already waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment and this report confirms that workforce shortages are now putting people’s lives at risk.
“It is completely unacceptable that North Wales and West Wales have some of the worst shortages of radiologists in the UK.
“Behind every delayed scan is a patient anxiously waiting for answers and, in some cases, facing a worse outcome because their diagnosis or treatment have been delayed.
“Alarm bells should be ringing at Welsh Government HQ, and the new Health Minister must now bring forward an urgent workforce plan to recruit, train and retain radiologists and oncologists, to radically improve services for patients.”
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