| Founded | 1920 |
|---|---|
| Members | 18,635 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Affiliation | TUC, ICTU, STUC |
| Key people | Richard Evans, chief executive officer |
| Office location | London, England |
| Website | www.sor.org |
The Society of Radiographers (SoR) is a professional body and a trades union that represents more than 90% of the diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers in the United Kingdom.[1] It was founded in 1920.[2] Until 1996, the SoR was also the professional body and trades union for radiographers in Ireland, whereupon the Institute of Radiography and Radiation Therapy was established.[3]
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The objectives for which The Society is established are as follows:[4]
The Society is led by a Council which is made-up of representatives from a number of English regions (Eastern region, London region, Midlands region, North West region, Northern region, South East region, South West region, Yorkshire & North Trent region) and from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.[5] Council determines the Society's policy and strategic direction in consultation with members and others that have a vested interest. It meets once a month, with the exception of August and December.
The Society is a company limited by guarantee and the members of Council are company directors registered at Companies House. They have responsibilities as representatives of the membership and also as directors of the company. Neither Council members nor College Board members are paid for their duties but they can claim travelling and other expenses.
The President is elected by the members of Council and is inaugurated at the July Council meeting each year.[6] There is also a President-elect and a Vice-president, who also serve for one year.
The 2010-2001 President is Sandie Mathers MSc DCR(R) of the Health Services Research Group, at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. The President-elect is Susan Johnson DCR(R) BSc(Hons) MA PgC, a diagnostic radiographer from Royal Derby Hospital in Derby. The Vice-President for the 2010-2011 term is Jackie Hughes DCR(R), a diagnostic radiographer from Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital, Penrohosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd.[7]
The patron of the Society of Radiographers is The Rt Hon Llinos "Llin" Golding, Baroness Golding of Newcastle-under-Lyme who is a Labour Party politician and former MP who sits in the House of Lords and who previously practiced as a radiographer.[8][9]
The College of Radiographers (CoR) is the charitable subsidiary of the Society. The College's objects are directed towards education, research and other activities in support of the science and practice of radiography.
The College, a registered charity, has its own Board of directors comprising an equal number of members drawn from Council and external directors representing the legal, financial and medical fields.
The College maintains an Accreditation and Approval Board which aims to protect patients of radiographers by raising the standards of education and practice. It does so by monitoring and assessing programmes of both pre-registration degree courses and ongoing professional education ranging from ad-hoc events to professional postgratuate training. The College runs courses and conferences. Various guidances and guidelines are published by the CoR often in conjunction with the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
Research grants are awarded by the College. An academic library is maintained. Further activities to promote the public interest includes the provision of advice to the public and to government and government agencies and activities to promote public awareness of radiography, radiology and oncology. Information on the activities of the CoR is published on the website of the UK's Charity Commission.[10]
Historically, the College was an awarding body for academic awards but no longer fulfils this function. The degree-equivalent[11] radiography qualification awarded by the CoR was the Diploma of the College of Radiographers (DCR) and this was awarded following a three-year training course and successful completion of a national examination, either in Radiodiagnosis (the DCR(R)) or in Therapy Radiography (the DCR(T)). Following study equivalent to Masters level, students with a DCR could proceed by examination to the Higher Diploma of the College of Radiographers (HDCR). Holders of the HDCR undergoing specialist training in management were awarded the Management Diploma of the College of Radiographers (MDCR) and those undergoing specialist training in the teaching of radiography were awarded the Teaching Diploma of the College of Radiographers (TDCR). The first Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Radiography was validated in 1989 and with the widespread introduction of BSc courses in radiography during 1993, the DCR was phased out. The HRCR, TDCR and MDCR have been replaced by Masters courses.
The Society of Radiographers Benevolent Fund is a registered charity (No. 326398) and it assists SoR members, former members and their families in times of hardship or distress and in particular the old, the sick and the incapacitated among members and former members. Information on the activities of the Benevolent Fund is published on the website of the UK's Charity Commission.[12]
The SoR issues a number of publications:
The SoR maintains a number of awards and grants.
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