IPEM Chief Executive Comments on the Government’s Spending Review

Following the Chancellor’s announcement of increased investment in the NHS in her Spending Review, IPEM Chief Executive Gill Collinson commented:

“In our submission ahead of the Spending Review, IPEM asked the Government to invest in the Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering workforce, in more modern equipment like scanners and in AI and new technology.

I am pleased therefore, that the Chancellor specifically included £10 billion for the NHS Technology Fund and £2 billion to be spent on an AI Action Plan in her statement. IPEM and its members look forward to contributing to how that investment will be spent.

We also welcome the significant increase in the NHS budget. We previously supported the Government’s investment in replacing old scanners, but this will merely eliminate the backlog and sustainable funding needs to be put in place to ensure that the NHS is not reliant on scanners that are operating past the recommended end of their life.

We recently saw how the hard work of Medical Physicists, Clinical Engineers and Clinical Technologists is contributing to reducing waiting lists for scans. However, the workforce crisis across these professions needs to be addressed urgently if progress is not to stall.

IPEM will continue to work hard to advocate for the Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering profession, both in the NHS and also across academia and industry.”