Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 20 December 2021 to Question 89536 on Mechanical Thrombectomy, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the number of whole time equivalent interventional neuroradiologists identified as practising in England in the Royal College of Radiologists Clinical radiology census report 2021.

Individual National Health Service employers are responsible for ensuring the appropriate staff are trained and competent to undertake mechanical thrombectomy. A credential for mechanical thrombectomy has now been agreed with the General Medical Council to allow interventional radiologists, cardiologists, neurosurgeons and stroke physicians to be trained to deliver medical treatment for stroke.

From 2016 to 2021 there has been a 63% increase in entry points in clinical radiology specialty training places. As of July 2022, there were 5,040 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the NHS in England in the sub-specialism of clinical radiology, an increase of 5.7% since July 2021 and 55.4% since July 2010. This includes doctors in training grades, specialists and doctors on other contracts. The consultant clinical radiologist workforce has also increased by 4.3% since July 2021 and 53.7% since July 2010.