New HSA report calls for action on shortages in medical imaging and radiation therapy

A new HSA research report, Fixing the Healthcare Bottleneck, provides an in-depth look at the important, often unseen, and too-often undervalued work performed by medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals in BC.

Shortages of these specialized professionals — who perform nearly all diagnostic procedures and deliver the radiation therapy critical to cancer treatment— contribute to bottlenecks and longer patient wait times.

Specifically, this report examines the critical role of diagnostic medical sonographers and medical radiation technologists (MRTs), including x-ray, computed tomography (CT), fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), mammography, nuclear medicine, positron emission tomography (PET), and radiation therapists.

Years of inadequate workforce planning, an aging population, and acute public sector shortages and burnout have contributed to the dire situation we face today.

Despite welcome recent investments in these professions by the provincial government, HSA’s research highlights key areas for improvement and policy action:

• Patient wait times increased for radiation therapy, CT scans, and MRI scans between 2019 and 2023.
• Despite some recent improvements, understaffing and shortages persist across the province and especially in radiation therapy and medical imaging disciplines.
• Overtime and private agency staffing are symptomatic of shortages and risk patient and worker safety. As well, the large for-profit medical imaging sector contributes to public sector shortages.
• BC has inadequate and strained post-secondary and clinical training capacity. BC programs and clinical training capacity have not kept pace with the increased demand on these professions in health care.
• The high cost of living and historically uncompetitive wages with other provinces have contributed to the medical imaging and radiation therapy staffing crisis.

Focused attention and investment on the medical imaging workforce and cancer care system can help turn the situation around.

The 2022 health human resources strategy and allied health professionals and cancer care strategies released in 2023 demonstrate the government’s commitment to addressing wait times and workforce shortages.

These strategies have been supported with the recent investment of $93 million in May 2024 for recruitment and retention incentives and post-secondary bursaries as well as the Ministry-supported HSBPA professional development fund.

Based on the key findings of this report, HSA will be meeting with government and employers to recommend the following specific actions:

• Immediately address medical imaging and radiation therapy shortages and increase baseline staffing levels through a variety of provincial and regional strategies.
• Increase post-secondary and clinical training capacity.
• Provide tuition bursaries and paid practicums.

The full report is available here.