The subscription rate for members of the Society of Radiographers will increase by £12 a year, the Society’s UK Council decided at the June meeting.
“Like everyone else, the organisation is feeling the pinch of the credit crunch,” said Michael Graveling, the Society’s president. “Despite this increase, our subscription fees will still be the lowest of all the professional health unions.”
Membership subscriptions are the single largest source of the Society’s income and a continuing growth in new members, along with efficiency savings, has meant that the organisation has been able to minimise the increase, which will take effect from 1 October.
“The profile of radiography in the healthcare ‘mix’ has increased hugely in recent years, which is great for the profession and the individuals who work in it, but it does mean that there is more pressure on the Society to keep up.
"The need to make the case for skills mix and role extension as part of cost effective services and emerging issues, such as the Independent Safeguarding Authority, show that the pressure is likely to increase,” commented Richard Evans, the SoR’s CEO.
“There are increasing expectations and demands for professional advice and guidance, and individual representation, advocacy and support for members and students. The importance of early and more imaging in terms of effective patient management, and the need to speed up and improve access to radiotherapy services, are major policy drivers in each of the four countries of the UK and, because healthcare is devolved, has to be dealt with on a country-by-country basis,” he continued.
Richard also pointed out that the economic crisis is affecting the SoR because the value of the Society’s investments is falling and there has been a large reduction in the interest earned on cash reserves.
Neil Williams, the Society’s director of finance, said: “A fundamental issue is that members need to be sure that we are spending their money as efficiently as we can and that we are taking every opportunity to make savings.
“It is worth looking at the annual report and accounts on the Society’s website which show how the organisation spends members’ money. Staff salaries as a proportion of overall expenditure is lower than most similar organisations and our productivity is high.
“For many years we have followed a policy of increasing the subscription rates when we have to by a small amount, rather than ‘saving them up’ for several years and then having to hit the membership with a large increase,” Neil continued.
The subscription rates for all grades of members from 1 October 2009 are shown below. The first two columns show the increase and the last two columns show the new annual rate.
| |
Month |
Year |
Month |
Year |
| Ordinary Members |
100 pence |
£12 |
£19.75 |
£237 |
| Reduced rate members |
50 pence |
£6 |
£13.75 |
£165 |
| Overseas members |
25 pence |
£3 |
£9.50 |
£114 |
| Accredited Assistant Practitioners |
25 pence |
£3 |
£9.00 |
£108 |
| Radiographic assistants |
25 pence |
£3 |
£6.00 |
£72 |
| Retired members |
nil |
nil |
£5.00 |
£60 |
| Students – years 2, 3 & 4 only |
nil |
nil |
£4.00 |
£48 |
To view the annual accounts click here.
