IPEM letter to NES - Threat to patient safety in Scotland over lack of funding for Clinical Scientist training places (15 November 2022)

Summary

This letter from Dr Robert Farley, President of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) to Karen Reid, the Chief Executive Officer of NHS Education for Scotland (NES) highlights that lack of funding for Clinical Scientist training places is putting patient safety in Scotland at risk.

Dr Farley says, "We understand NHS Education for Scotland are proposing funding that equates to less than a single training post in medical physics and clinical engineering in 2023. ‘This is despite the Scottish Government's Chief Healthcare Science Officer’s public acknowledgement of the importance of training.

"Scotland currently has a 10 per cent Clinical Scientist vacancy rate across the medical physics specialisms. This equates to seven vacancies in radiotherapy, three in nuclear medicine, four in diagnostic radiology and radiation protection. These posts are critical to supporting diagnostics and cancer treatments."