Written question WQ93582

Health board Integrated Medium-Term Plans (IMTPs) show a consistent increase in demand for ultrasound education in Wales. In 2024-25, I agreed an increase in the number of medical ultrasound training places, from 15 to 20 to help ensure a pipeline of sonographers within the NHS Wales workforce.

Working in collaboration with the NHS Executive and alongside the National Imaging, Pathology, Endoscopy and Healthcare Science programmes, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) has developed a set of short to medium-term workforce actions for diagnostics services in Wales.

The diagnostic workforce plan has been created in response to the Diagnostic recovery and transformation strategy for Wales which sets out a number of key priorities.

An approval to tender for ultrasound education was approved by the HEIW board in January 2024 for the first cohort in the 2024-25 academic year, starting in January 2025:

In April, the two courses tendered to supply all-Wales were:

• Ultrasound Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip), accredited by the Consortium for the Accreditation of Sonographic Education (CASE) – two-year course.

• Ultrasound Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert), to increase and enhance the provision of sonography education in Wales to support the rising service demand – one year course.

The postgraduate diploma and certificate should enable students to practice in any of the four specific clinical areas – obstetrics and gynaecology; abdominal/general ultrasound; vascular and musculoskeletal conditions.

Growing the imaging workforce is vital to achieving the ambitious targets for recovery across the UK. Sonography has been on the UK Government skilled worker visa: shortage occupation list for more than 15 years.