Radiology in the National Health Service

There is a huge demand for Clinical Radiologists, who provide a diagnostic imaging service to patients referred to them by family practitioners and hospital doctors.

Patients referred to clinical radiologists by such specialists, are referred for assistance in both diagnosis and deciding upon the best management of a patient's problems. In appropriate cases radiologists use minimally invasive methods to treat diseases. In addition, biopsy of tissues is carried out on a regular basis. These procedures (and others) help to avoid the need for surgical intervention in numerous cases.

It is reported that the specialty of Diagnostic Imaging has probably been one of the most rapidly expanding specialties in recent years and now offers a variety of work which can accommodate the aspirations of many doctors.

Hospitals require that a radiologist should be available 24 hours a day to deal with emergency cases. This means a regular on-call commitment is required which varies in intensity, depending on the hospital or sub-specialty.