The UK's radiotherapy workforce shortage: Reforming regulation to address the gap

The UK's National Health Service faces an acute cancer workforce deficit across all specialities. The Royal College of Radiologists reports a 17% shortfall in consultant clinical oncologists today, which is projected to reach 26% by 2030. At the same time, cancer incidence is rising, with over half a million new diagnoses in the UK expected annually by 2040, many of whom will need radiotherapy at some point in their care. The UK's dual-trained clinical oncology model, requiring competence in both radiotherapy and systemic therapy, sets it apart from many other countries. Given the increasing complexity of modern cancer care, many high-income countries opt to train radiation oncologists and medical oncologists separately. This discrepancy in training and practice, while suiting UK oncology practice and some aspects of service delivery, has the unintended effect of creating a barrier to recruiting international radiation oncologists who could help alleviate radiotherapy capacity issues in the UK. Creating a radiation-oncology-specific specialist registration route would safely open the door to global expertise and help restore capacity, particularly given the increasing complexity of treatment. This would also help to reduce treatment delays, likely leading to improved cancer outcomes and patient experience.