Healthcare heroes in our hospitals continue to face the battles of COVID-19 everyday, and STUDENT RADIOGRAPHERS are too.  Like many healthcare students, we have continued with our clinical placements in Irish hospitals even now during Level 5. We need your help to make our small but mighty numbers heard. We deserve fair pay and recognition for our hard and risky work.

Many of us have had to move out to protect vulnerable family members or even isolate ourselves in our own homes as we cannot afford to seek accomodation while on placement. Many of us have been directly impacted by COVID19 in the hospitals, having to take off time because of undisclosed COVID patients, close contacts within the hospital and having symptoms of COVID 19.

We are working taking x-rays in the X-Ray department, in theatre, in ICU and on the COVID wards every single day. Putting ourselves at risk because we have no other options. Running from ward to ICU and back again all day for x-rays of increasing numbers of COVID patients. Exposing ourselves to the virus for no compensation, no help and no financial support. 

We spend our own money to get to and from placement each day in petrol, tolls, buses, trains and taxis (for rural sites). I myself, pass through 2 tolls twice daily, combined with petrol costs me 22 euros a day! That is €110 a week on transport alone. Not to add uniforms, lunches, accomodation and general expenditure on top of that as well (and a necessary coffee for the long hours).

We are asking for some assitance- financially and emotionally. Many of us have lost jobs at level 5 or cannot work because of the risk of spreading COVID19. 

We as student radiographers are pleading to our government to recognise the sacrifices and efforts made during the COVID-19 pandemic, by paying us for our efforts. We are pleading that we be treated equally alongside our fellow student nurses and other student healthcare students and receive the same payments that they are. We are pleading that we be backdated for work placement we carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are pleading that we be granted a travel allowance / accomodation allowance, just like nurses ans doctors. We plea that this grant should not be removed 2 weeks after it's implementation, like it was last time.

Stay safe, keep your distance from others, wear a mask. Agus go raibh mille maith agat.