17 December 2014 Response by The Royal College of Radiologists

17 December 2014
Response by The Royal College of Radiologists to the joint statement on integrated
care issued by the RCP and RCGP
The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) supports the statement on integrated care issued today
by the Royal College of Physicians of London and the Royal College of General Practitioners and
commits to work with them in the realisation of their vision
The need to integrate care is obvious to all. We have been calling for some time to ensure that
patients from primary care in particular have ready access to radiology services. The vast majority
of patient pathways and conditions that are not contained within primary care require an imaging
investigation. The role of the clinical radiologist is vital.
But to achieve this, the four UK governments need to (a) remove the obstacles to integration of healthcare services. Governments must enable and
encourage the best use of imaging services. We have already set out our views on this with the
concept of radiology networks
(b) support and encourage commissioners to recognise the value of imaging. Radiology is
fundamental to the clinical care of patients and must be integrated into the overall clinical
management of patients
(c) invest in the radiologist workforce. There is a chronic shortage of radiologists in the UK.
We have around 48 trained radiologists per million population, a figure which has remained almost
static for the past five years. The same figures are 78 in Germany, 107 in Sweden and 113 in
France. Yet for the last 10 years the number of CT scans performed has increased 10.3% per
year; for MRI scans the increase is 12% per year. Despite this, the number of scans performed in
the UK remains significantly below those in other countries for most tests. Further growth can
therefore be expected. This is not containable. Our recent snapshot survey on reporting backlogs
illustrates the dire position in England which will only get worse unless action is taken now.
Speaking today, Dr Giles Maskell, President of the RCR said: “Patients in the UK deserve timely
diagnosis by the experts who can most readily help them – clinical radiologists. But that and the
desirable integration of care will not be possible unless Governments act today and invest now for
the future”
ENDS
Further information:
Bruce Sparrow, Communications and External Affairs Officer, [email protected]
Tel: 020 7406 5941; Mob: 07554 998197
Notes:
 The Royal College of Radiologists has over 9,700 Fellows and members worldwide,
practising in the specialties of clinical oncology and clinical radiology.
 The College sets and maintains the standards for entry to and practice in the specialties of
clinical radiology and clinical oncology in addition to leading and supporting practitioners
throughout their careers: www.rcr.ac.uk
 Clinical radiologists are doctors who use imaging tests such as x-rays, ultrasound, CT
(computed tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to diagnose health
problems and decide on the best way to manage them. The clinical radiologist's function is
to investigate and interpret the images and report the findings to the hospital medical team
or referring GP.
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