Professor Fidelma Flanagan:

There are 21 breast radiologists working in BreastCheck. Many of them, including me, work in the symptomatic service as well. Currently, there are four vacant positions and two further radiologists are on extended leave. That represents a 20% deficit in our current workforce. Next year, we anticipate at least two or three further retirements. We have been very much aware of this issue in BreastCheck for a number of years. In the past, we have dealt with deficiencies in our workforce in radiography with ongoing rolling recruitment and advertising and training campaigns. It is very much on our radar and we offer training programmes for junior radiologists. However, we are up against it because there is a worldwide shortage. Screening radiology is seen to be a challenging job in a challenging environment and younger radiologists are not necessarily choosing it as their career. It is a multifactorial issue that will not be resolved by throwing money at it. The problem is deep-rooted and it presents a real challenge to the future of this programme if there is not a change in this regard.