The UK Council elections have yielded three new appointments and one re-elected representative following regional seat ballots earlier this year.
Thomas Welton has been re-elected for the North West region, while David Morris won in London, Clive MacCallum-Roberts succeeded in Wales, and Margot McBride has been elected Scotland representative.
Representatives have a range of duties, including:
- Representing and promoting agreed policies
- Representing the trades union and professional interests of all Society members
- Developing and promoting the advancement of the radiography profession and the wider radiographic workforce
- Undertaking campaign work as required
- Encouraging recruitment of members in their countries and regions
- Attending and speaking at national and international conferences, events and meetings
Thomas Welton - North West
Mr Welton will also become President of SoR in July this year, after six previous years as the North West UK Council member.
He has also sat on the research advisory group, the student forum, the CoR board of trustees, and has represented the profession on outside agencies such as the RCR faculty board and as a Radiology and Oncology Congress trustee (UKIO).
Mr Welton said: “I have a strong attitude towards improvement and as an industrial relations rep for my trust, I have lobbied both locally and nationally for awareness of the radiography role (both diagnostic and therapeutic).
“Once in my presidential role, I plan to take this drive and continue to work well with my other UK council colleagues and staff of the SoR and CoR to represent the radiography workforce.”
He added that the North West is in a “unique position”, as the largest region outside London and with strong political interests.
“We must have a strong voice for the profession and for healthcare,” he said. “I feel I can give that voice and am the right candidate for the Northwest of England.”
David (Dai) Morris - London
Mr Morris is a senior rotational Diagnostic Radiographer at Kings College Hospital, and has been an industrial relations representative since his election 2018. Last year, he received the London Rep of the Year award, and has previously been a staff governor within his Trust.
He pointed to the recent Radiography Manifesto release as an important tool to outline his objective and offer direction – as “who could argue against the values of equality, integrity and advocacy?”
He said: “I am a firm believer of listening to our members and collating ideas. Having worked in five different trusts in various parts of the country, I like to gauge how issues are dealt with at both local and national levels and as councillor I would be in a firm position to help aid, develop and apply ideas.
“The strength of any union stems from the bottom up and it is imperative we recruit more members and reps. I have been successful in recruiting several new reps in my hospital and am currently involved in updating our Staffside manifesto which aims to highlight the importance of both. This is a cross profession exercise which we hope will deliver on multiple fronts. The more the merrier!”
Mr Morris has previously attended and spoken at ADC multiple times, both for and against motions, and added that he understands being a rep or a health professional is not an easy task. However, he emphasised has gained “innumerable new skills” from his experiences, which he hopes will help him as a successful SoR councillor.
Clive MacCallum-Roberts - Wales
Mr MacCallum-Roberts came into the profession as a mature students, with a BSc from Bangor University in 2005 before an MSc in Advanced Medical Imaging from Salford University, from which he graduated in 2016.
He is the radiology representative on the Health and Safety, People and Culture, Quality, Infection Prevention and Medical Devices committees locally, and is an engagement officer for the disability network which crosses over with the equality, diversity (including neurodiversity) and ethnic minority networks.
He said: “I am passionate about bringing the best out of people and giving everyone an equal say and equal chances.
“Having been a member of the SoR Welsh Council and recently appointed to the role of Welsh Language representative, I am keen to use my experience, both as a patient as well as a radiographer to assist the society to progress the already excellent work done for the benefit of our members by serving on the UK council.
“I am hoping that by being elected onto UK council I will be able to help influence the Society’s strategies to strengthen its representation of our members through encouraging wider participation with the Society’s activities.”
Margot McBride - Scotland
Ms McBride qualified at the Dundee School of Radiography as a Diagnostic Radiographer, before practising in Scotland and England. Her first academic post was at the General Infirmary School of Radiography at Leeds and her first research post was at the University of Edinburgh in 1986.
In 2020 Ms McBride was awarded a Fellowship of the College of Radiographers and in 2023 graduated from Lancaster University with a PhD in Cushing syndrome.
Currently, she is on the University of St Andrews Impact Advisory Board, is a PhD supervisor at Dundee University, and is a CoR Assessor.
Ms Mcbride said: “I have been extremely privileged to be a major player, driving change and recognising that to support organisational growth requires leadership, research and listening skills. As a Scottish Council member, I have the opportunity to be a member of the Allied Health Professions Federation, their mission being to influence national policy at strategic level.
“This also has given me an opportunity to be proactive in Scottish Government working groups representing radiography and all AHP professions. Our policies are very much aligned with the SoR’ss strategic objectives and values.”
View the official UK Council election vote count here.