UK Ultrasound Professionals Launch Manifesto Demanding End to Recruitment Freezes Amid Diagnostic Workforce Crisis
Key Insights
A consortium of five UK professional bodies has published the Collaborative Ultrasound Manifesto calling for an end to recruitment freezes at NHS trusts failing to meet diagnostic targets.
Sonographer vacancy rates average 24% nationally, rising to 40% in some areas, while demand for ultrasound scans increases by an estimated 5.9% annually.
The manifesto urges multi-year funding for training, statutory regulation of sonographers, and a unified national ultrasound strategy to reduce patient waiting times.
A coalition of five leading UK professional bodies has issued an urgent call to address chronic workforce shortages in diagnostic ultrasound, warning that recruitment freezes at underperforming NHS trusts are undermining cancer diagnosis and patient care.
The Collaborative Ultrasound Manifesto, published on Monday 8 June and launched at the UK Imaging and Oncology congress (UKIO) 2026, was jointly authored by the Society of Radiographers (search) (SoR), radiography trade association AXREM (search), the British Institute of Radiology (search) (BIR), the British Medical Ultrasound Society (search) (BMUS), and the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (search) (IPEM).
A workforce under strain
The manifesto paints a stark picture of the ultrasound workforce. Sonographer vacancy rates currently average 24% nationally, climbing to as high as 40% in some regions. Medical physics, clinical engineering, and clinical technologist teams face shortages of up to 40%, while shortages of radiologists specialising in ultrasound are similarly severe, according to the BIR.
These shortages are compounded by rising demand. The manifesto notes that demand for ultrasound scans is increasing by an estimated 5.9% each year, a rate that outstrips current workforce expansion capacity. The majority of NHS trusts have introduced recruitment freezes as a cost-saving measure, further pressuring already stretched imaging departments.
Cancer diagnosis at risk
Ultrasound is frequently the first step in investigating a potential cancer diagnosis. Scans are used to examine the liver, kidneys, and spleen, as well as for endometrial and ovarian cancer, and for tumours in the breast, neck, prostate, and testes.
Richard Evans, CEO of the Society of Radiographers (search), underscored the direct link between workforce capacity and cancer outcomes. "If sonography is the starting point for cancer diagnosis, it will be extremely hard to reduce cancer waiting times with the current workforce shortfall," Evans said. "This is why it's vital that trusts that are not meeting their targets for diagnosis should not be allowed to introduce recruitment freezes in their imaging departments."
Six key demands
The manifesto sets out a series of practical steps for national decision-makers, professional bodies, and healthcare organisations. These include stabilising and expanding the ultrasound workforce through statutory regulation, protecting training capacity, and implementing national workforce planning. The document also calls for investment in lifelong skills development, robust asset management and quality-assurance systems, and the safe adoption of innovation.
Crucially, the manifesto demands stable, multi-year funding to underpin training, quality assurance, and equipment replacement, alongside the delivery of a unified national ultrasound strategy aimed at reducing variation and improving outcomes across the UK.
Dr Peter Cantin, President of BMUS, emphasised the broader implications. "Ultrasound is central to timely diagnosis, safe care, and better outcomes for patients across the UK," Cantin said. "But services cannot meet growing demand without a sustainable workforce, appropriate regulation, and continued investment in training, equipment, and quality assurance. This manifesto sets out the practical steps needed to strengthen ultrasound services, reduce delays, and support patients to get the answers and treatment they need quickly."
The launch event at UKIO 2026 featured speeches from Katie Thompson, SoR president; Sally Edgington, AXREM (search) representative; and Gill Collinson, IPEM representative.