I am a diagnostic radiographer and mammographer in the NHS. I have been qualified almost eight years, and after undertaking a postgraduate programme in breast imaging I was awarded a band six role. I have spent four years at university in total to be where I am today.

I work a mixture of shifts, days and nights, and I rotate throughout the X-ray department in a range of modalities, including CT. I am expected to be competent in all these areas, and I am spread quite thinly.

We are an average department and, until two years ago, we were a happy department. Funding cuts, lack of recruitment and high levels of staff sickness and stress have all had a negative impact on morale, which in turn has an impact on the efficient running of the department. Often there are long waits due to lack of staff, or a room might be broken (again!), or there may just be so much demand on us and we cannot cope.

Our management are under pressure from their management who are under pressure from their management, and at times we feel completely undervalued, unappreciated and unsupported.

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves Show all 6 1 /6 Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves The elderly “We acknowledge that there are pressures on the health service, there are always extra pressures on the NHS in the winter, but we have the added pressures of the ageing population and the growing complex needs of the population,” Theresa May has said. Waits of over 12 hours in A&E among elderly people have more than doubled in two years, according to figures from NHS Digital. Getty Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves Patients going to A&E instead of seeing their GPs Jeremy Hunt has called for a “honest discussion with the public about the purpose of A&E departments”, saying that around a third of A&E patients were in hospital unnecessarily. Mr Hunt told Radio 4’s Today programme the NHS now had more doctors, nurses and funding than ever, but explained what he called “very serious problems at some hospitals” by suggesting pressures were increasing in part because people are going to A&Es when they should not. He urged patients to visit their GP for non-emergency illnesses, outlined plans to release time for family doctors to support urgent care work, and said the NHS will soon be able to deliver seven-day access to a GP from 8am to 8pm. But doctors struggling amid a GP recruitment crisis said Mr Hunt’s plans were unrealistic and demanded the Government commit to investing in all areas of the overstretched health service. Getty Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves Simon Stevens, head of NHS England Reports that “key members” of Ms May’s team used internal meetings to accuse Simon Stevens, head of NHS England, of being unenthusiastic and unresponsive have been rejected by Downing Street. Mr Stevens had allegedly rejected claims made by Ms May that the NHS had been given more funding than required. Getty Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves Previous health policy, not funding In an interview with Sky News’s Sophy Ridge, Ms May acknowledged the NHS faced pressures but said it was a problem that had been “ducked by government over the years”. She refuted the claim that hospitals were tackling a “humanitarian crisis” and said health funding was at record levels. “We asked the NHS a while back to set out what it needed over the next five years in terms of its plan for the future and the funding that it would need,” said the Prime Minister. “They did that, we gave them that funding, in fact we gave them more funding than they required… Funding is now at record levels for the NHS, more money has been going in.” But doctors accused Ms May of being “in denial” about how the lack of additional funding provided for health and social care were behind a spiralling crisis in NHS hospitals. Getty Images Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves Target to treat all A&E patients within four hours Mr Hunt was accused of watering down the flagship target to treat all A&E patients within four hours. The Health Secretary told MPs the promise – introduced by Tony Blair’s government in 2000 – should only be for “those who actually need it”. Amid jeers in the Commons, Mr Hunt said only four other countries pledged to treat all patients within a similar timeframe and all had “less stringent” rules. But Ms May has now said the Government will stand by the four-hour target for A&E, which says 95 per cent of patients must be dealt with within that time frame. Getty Images Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves No one Mr Hunt was accused of “hiding” from the public eye following news of the Red Cross’s comments and didn’t make an official statement for two days. He was also filmed refusing to answer questions from journalists who pursued him down the street yesterday to ask whether he planned to scrap the four-hour A&E waiting time target. Sky News reporter Beth Rigby pressed the Health Secretary on his position on the matter, saying “the public will want to know, Mr Hunt”. “Sorry Beth, I’ve answered questions about this already,” replied Mr Hunt. “But you didn’t answer questions on this. You said it was over-interpreted in the House of Commons and you didn’t want to water it down. Is that what you’re saying?” said Ms Rigby. “It’s very difficult, because how are we going to explain to the public what your intention is, when you change your position and then won’t answer the question, Mr Hunt”. But the Health Secretary maintained his silence until he reached his car and got in. Getty

Radiographers are the heart of modern medicine. On average, 95 per cent of patients will require a radiographer's care during their visit to hospital, whether they are an inpatient or an outpatient, which is why the demand and pressure on us is so great.

We are in charge of millions of pounds worth of equipment, which takes a great deal of training and skill to master, despite the common misconception that we are “button pushers”. We have to have extensive knowledge of anatomy, physiology, physics and mathematics. Someone once asked me why I hadn't pushed myself and become a nurse instead. The look on their face when I told them the radiography degree was the same length of time as the nursing one, and required just as much skill and knowledge.

We work in a wide range of settings. Radiographers are the first professionals in a patient's line of care to know that the patient has cancer. They allow you to see your unborn child for the first time. They allow your surgeon to plan your operation so it runs smoothly, and provide imaging during your operation. They may be involved in forensics, and postmortem examinations. X-rays ensure your fractures are healing properly, and confirm that your cough is just a chest infection and nothing more sinister. Therapeutic radiographers plan your radiotherapy, and get you through it. Radiology is a vast world, and people don't even realise half of what we do. Advanced radiographers even report on scans and images, taking over the traditional role of the radiologist. The responsibilities we have are huge.

We see patients from all walks of life – at the most exciting and most terrifying times in their lives. We might tell them the worst news they have ever heard, or let them listen to their unborn baby's heartbeat for the first time. Learning to detach yourself from your patients is probably the hardest thing I've ever had to teach myself, and I try to go home at the end of the day and leave work at work. This doesn't always happen. I am only human, after all.

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We are quite possibly the most undervalued profession within the NHS. I may be being biased, but if you asked a random person what a radiographer does, nine times out of 10 they wouldn't know. We are just the unknown, hidden away in dark rooms who, to the rest of the hospital, aren't relevant to anything. And yet the majority of other professions couldn’t do their jobs without us. Doctors, surgeons, pathologists, dentists, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists – they all need radiographers at one time or another to do their jobs correctly and safely.

It infuriates me when the media portray the NHS as consisting only of doctors and nurses. I find it even more infuriating to read about how all these nurses are leaving their jobs because of the stress – and yet it's happening to all professions all over the NHS. I know of fellow radiographers who would rather go and work in a supermarket. The minimum wage keeps rising, for jobs with minimal responsibility. And yet we are saving lives every day, and accountable for so much, and we don't even deserve more than a 1 per cent pay rise?

We are consistently being undercut, and as the cost of living rises, all NHS professions find themselves struggling to make ends meet. The NHS is always trying to save money. Buying in the cheapest stock possible (which is never any good), employing healthcare assistants or assistant practitioners in place of the qualified professional to save money (who are still amazing, do a wonderful job and without whom we would be lost!) or by not paying the correct grade for the amount of responsibility. Opportunities to progress are few and far between, and many NHS radiographers end up tempted by the private sector.

After recent tragic events, it was highlighted how important our NHS is, and how sacred it is. The Government need to start appreciating us, and helping to make the NHS great again – before it's too late and it collapses all together. I fear we may have already gone past this point, and eventually we will all pay for our healthcare.

I think it’s only at that point that the public will realise what they had, and how good it actually was.

I wrote this not just for my fellow radiographers but for all the forgotten NHS professionals who work tirelessly every day and do their best for their patients yet don't receive the praise or the coverage they deserve.