RADIOGRAPHERS are set to strike for 48 hours later this month over pay, their union has said.

The Society of Radiographers (SoR) said its members at 43 NHS trusts voted to walk out between 8am on July 25 and 8am on July 27.

Bank holiday levels of “life-and-limb” emergency cover will be provided for patients while the industrial action takes place, it added.

The announcement comes after union members voted to reject the government’s pay offer of 5 per cent plus a non-consolidated lump sum for 2022-23 in an indicative ballot.

Trusts affected include University College London Hospitals, the Royal Marsden, Liverpool University Hospitals, Nottingham University Hospitals and University Hospitals Bristol.

A majority of members were in favour of striking at more than 150 trusts but the required turnout threshold was not reached in many instances.

The union informed affected trusts of the strike by letter on Thursday.

It urged the government to discuss “urgent improvements” to radiographers’ pay and conditions to avert the walkout.

Dean Rogers, the union’s executive director of industrial strategy and member relations, said: “Voting for strike action is never easy. 

“Going out on strike will be even more difficult for our members, who care above all about the safety and wellbeing of their patients.

“The Society of Radiographers had been seeking meaningful discussions with the government without success since starting its industrial action ballot across England.”

The union said radiographers — who carry out scans including X-rays and MRIs as well as radiotherapy for people with cancer — help nine out of 10 NHS patients but “too few” of them are currently being recruited and retained.