Specialist trust · Cardiff, Wales
Diagnostic radiographer at Health Education and Improvement Wales
Working as a diagnostic radiographer at Health Education and Improvement Wales in Cardiff, Wales means a concentrated specialist caseload, referred in from a wide area because the care needed is beyond what a district general hospital provides. Band 5 starts at £32,557 on the Wales 2026/27 scale. No workforce or staff survey figures for this organisation are in the open dataset yet, so this page sets out the caseload, the national pay ladder and where the local courses are, and states nothing it cannot source.
The job at Health Education and Improvement Wales
Diagnostic radiographers produce and interpret the medical images that let clinicians see inside the body. They operate X-ray equipment, CT and MRI scanners, fluoroscopy, ultrasound and nuclear medicine cameras, positioning patients accurately, justifying and optimising radiation dose and checking image quality. The work mixes technical precision with fast-moving patient care, from trauma imaging in the emergency department to theatre, wards, clinics and screening programmes. Experienced radiographers report images, lead ultrasound lists and take on advanced practice roles. Patients of all ages, from newborns to older people, who need imaging for diagnosis, screening, monitoring or image-guided treatment, including trauma, cancer, cardiac and emergency patients.
At a specialist trust such as Health Education and Improvement Wales, that work means a concentrated specialist caseload, referred in from a wide area because the care needed is beyond what a district general hospital provides. Posts here are more often specialist from appointment than rotational, and some specialist centres recruit at band 6 where the work requires prior experience. Across the profession as a whole, diagnostic radiographers work in settings including NHS acute trust imaging department, emergency department, operating theatres, CT and MRI units and nuclear medicine — an organisation of this type will run some of those services and not others, which is why two posts with the same job title in the same city can be very different jobs.
Pay is not an employer decision. Agenda for Change is negotiated nationally and set separately in each of the four nations, so Health Education and Improvement Wales pays band 5 exactly what every other NHS employer in Wales pays it: £32,557 at the bottom of the band on the 2026/27 scale. For context, median full-time pay across all occupations in Wales was £35,796 in 2025. What genuinely differs between two employers is the caseload, how rotations are structured, how much protected time you get for supervision and continuing professional development, how much band 6 progression is built into the establishment, and how far you travel between sites. Those are the questions worth asking at interview.
This page states no figure specific to Health Education and Improvement Wales because none is published in the open data. When the workforce and staff survey feeds include this organisation, the establishment size, the response rate and the theme scores will appear above.
- Employer
- Health Education and Improvement Wales
- Organisation type
- Specialist trust
- Based in
- Cardiff
- Nation
- Wales
- Regulator
- HCPC registration required
- Usual starting band
- Band 5
- Local courses
- 2 in Wales
What you would be paid, band by band
Wales Agenda for Change rates, 2026/27 — the same at every NHS employer in the nation.
| Band | Starting | Point 2 | Point 3 | Top of band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 5 Entry level | £32,557 | £35,114 | £39,631 | £39,631 |
| Band 6 | £40,559 | £42,805 | £48,841 | £48,841 |
| Band 7 | £50,129 | £52,712 | £57,365 | £57,365 |
| Band 8a | £58,379 | £61,317 | £65,723 | £65,723 |
Diagnostic radiographer pay in detail · The whole Wales scale · Band 5 diagnostic radiographers
Where to train for this job near Cardiff
2 universities in Wales run an approved pre-registration course for diagnostic radiographers. Placements are commissioned with the trusts and boards nearest the university, so these are the courses most likely to place students with Health Education and Improvement Wales, across undergraduate degree routes.
| Course | University | Route | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography | Bangor University | BSc | |
| BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography and Imaging | Cardiff University | BSc |
The national picture
UK-wide figures for the profession, not for this organisation.
| Measure | Value | Geography | As at |
|---|---|---|---|
| HCPC registrants on the 'Radiographers' part of the Register (all application routes) - a single register part shared by radiographer, diagnostic-radiographer, therapeutic-radiographer, so this count is not specific to one designated title | 48,437 registrants | United Kingdom (HCPC Register; includes registrants trained outside the UK) | 1 April 2025 |
| HCPC registrants on the 'Radiographers' part of the Register (all application routes) - a single register part shared by radiographer, diagnostic-radiographer, therapeutic-radiographer, so this count is not specific to one designated title | 48,437 registrants | United Kingdom (HCPC Register; includes registrants trained outside the UK) | 1 April 2025 |
| People in employment in the UK in SOC 2020 unit group 2254 (Medical radiographers), Annual Population Survey estimate | 44,200 people in employment | United Kingdom | 31 March 2026 |
| People in employment in the UK in SOC 2020 unit group 2254 (Medical radiographers), Annual Population Survey estimate | 44,200 people in employment | United Kingdom | 31 March 2026 |
Diagnostic radiographers at other organisations in Wales
Same registration, same bands, different caseload — the organisation type is the variable, and the size of the establishment tells you how many colleagues and how many rotation slots sit behind the job title.
| Organisation | Type | Based in | Full-time equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aneurin Bevan University Health Board | Health board | Newport | |
| Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board | Health board | Bangor | |
| Cardiff and Vale University Health Board | Health board | Cardiff | |
| Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board | Health board | Pontypridd | |
| Digital Health and Care Wales | Specialist trust | Cardiff | |
| Health Education and Improvement Wales This page | Specialist trust | Cardiff | |
| Hywel Dda University Health Board | Health board | Carmarthen | |
| Powys Teaching Health Board | Health board | Brecon | |
| Public Health Wales NHS Trust | Specialist trust | Cardiff | |
| Swansea Bay University Health Board | Health board | Neath | |
| Velindre University NHS Trust | Specialist trust | Cardiff |
A blank establishment figure means the organisation did not return one for this profession, not that it employs nobody. Only organisations whose type runs this service are listed.
Other allied health professions at Health Education and Improvement Wales
- Physiotherapist — Band 5 entry
- Occupational therapist — Band 5 entry
- Operating department practitioner — Band 5 entry
- Dietitian — Band 5 entry
- Speech and language therapist — Band 5 entry
- Podiatrist — Band 5 entry
- Therapeutic radiographer — Band 5 entry
Next steps
- Health Education and Improvement Wales — The organisation in full
- How to become a diagnostic radiographer — Every route in
- All diagnostic radiographers courses — Every approved UK course
- Diagnostic radiographer jobs in Wales — The local job market
- Diagnostic radiographer pay — Band by band
- All NHS employers — Grouped by nation and region
Where this page’s data comes from
The figures on this page are national or regional. No workforce, staff survey or inspection data for this organisation is in the open dataset yet.
- HCPC register summary and registrant snapshots (aggregate)Health and Care Professions Council · No open licence stated; HCPC copyright · checked 3 September 2026
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) via NomisOffice for National Statistics, delivered by Nomis (Durham University) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 3 September 2026Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- HCPC approved programmes directoryHealth and Care Professions Council · No open licence stated; HCPC copyright · checked 3 September 2026
- directory.spineservices.nhs.ukCited page
- heiw.nhs.walesCited page
- healthcareers.nhs.ukCited page
- ons.gov.ukCited page
- sor.orgCited page
- hee.nhs.ukCited page
- faq.nhsbsa.nhs.ukCited page
- instituteforapprenticeships.orgCited page
- bangor.ac.ukCited page