Radiographers are “overworked and undervalued”, union bosses have said as radiographers launched a 48-hour strike at 37 NHS trusts in England.

Members of the Society of Radiographers (SoR) voted to reject the Government’s 5% pay award and called for talks to reopen after other public sector workers, including junior doctors, were offered more.

The union said worrying numbers of staff are leaving the profession and not enough is being done to recruit more workers.

They are overworked and undervalued and they are making a stand because they need better pay and conditions

It acknowledged that the strike will cause “massive disruption” but said that radiographers were taking to picket lines due to “massive workforce issues” facing the sector.

Leandre Archer, head of industrial relations at the SoR, told Sky News: “No radiographers want to be on the picket lines – they want to be in work delivering care for their patients. But, unfortunately, they’re overworked and undervalued and they’re making a stand because they need better pay and conditions.”

She said that the 5% pay award for radiographers was rejected because “they didn’t feel it was enough to deal with the spiralling cost-of-living crisis or, indeed, their recruitment and retention issues within the workforce.”

Ms Archer added: “Other public servants have now been awarded more than the 5% and what we’re asking the Government is to negotiate with us.”

The 48-hour strike began at 8am on Tuesday and will involve the 37 NHS trusts where members have a mandate to strike.

These include the Royal Marsden cancer hospital in London, University College London Hospitals, Liverpool University Hospitals, Nottingham University Hospitals, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.

Union representatives from each trust have agreed staff will provide “life and limb” emergency cover for patients, which usually means the same staffing levels as Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

The SoR said nine out of 10 NHS hospital patients are supported by radiographers, who carry out X-rays, MRI and CT scans, ultrasounds and breast screening, as well as radiotherapy for cancer patients.

A million people are waiting for radiography services.

One hospital boss described how the strike will lead to cancelled operations as well as scans.

Nick Hulme, chief executive of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, told Times Radio: “Yesterday across Ipswich and Colchester hospitals, we did 1,500 different examinations and scans and today we are doing 265, so it’s less than 20% of what we’d normally do.

“I think it’s important to recognise it’s not just in the scanning departments where radiographers have a really, really important role – so they work very closely with our surgeons and in the operating theatres for the guided operations that we need to perform – so we’re also losing 58 operations today which is obviously really, really distressing for those patients.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said that the pay award was “final” and urged the union to call off the strike.

He said: “I want to see an end to disruptive strikes so the NHS can focus relentlessly on cutting waiting lists and delivering for patients.

“The majority of unions on the NHS Staff Council voted to accept the Government’s fair and reasonable offer of a 5% pay rise for 2023-24, alongside two significant one-off payments totalling at least £1,655, putting more money in their pockets now.

“This pay award is final and so I urge the Society of Radiographers to call off strikes.”

Asked what pay rise radiographers would like to see, Ms Archer told Sky News: “We want something that will be tangible that we can take to our members – obviously more than 5%.

“We’ve always said we wanted an over-inflation pay rise.

“What we want to see is pay restoration. Our members have lost about 25% (of their pay allowing for inflation) since 2008, so we want to see a commitment to pay restoration. We know that won’t happen overnight. It’s going take a number of years. But if the Government could sit down and talk to us, we’re open to compromise.”

On the impact of the strike, Ms Archer said: “It will have massive disruption unfortunately, it’s not where we want to be.

“Unfortunately, 13% of the workforce is missing, there’s a massive gap in the workforce and radiographers are taking a stand today to get the Government to do something about the massive workforce issues that they’re facing.”

Speaking outside the Royal Marsden Hospital in Surrey on Tuesday, therapeutic radiographer Ashley d’Aquino, 43, said: “We’re on strike because the Government have not engaged with our Society of Radiographers.

“We have spoken to them, our society has spoken to them, about the issues with recruitment and retention.

“People are leaving because of burnout.

“We just want them to start engaging a little bit more and working with the different unions to address these issues.”

Dean Rogers, executive director of industrial strategy and member relations for the SoR, said: “We need to draw attention to the fact that many radiography professionals are feeling burnt out by low pay and increased hours. They’re leaving the NHS, and they are not being replaced in adequate numbers.

“If the Government wants to reduce NHS waiting lists and ensure that patients receive the treatment they need, when they need it, then it must urgently prioritise the recruitment and retention of radiography professionals – and that means talking to us about pay and conditions.”