The Cardiology Staffing Crisis: How Insourcing Solves Specialist Shortages
Summary
With cardiology services under intense pressure from Consultant shortages and rising demand, NHS trusts are turning to insourcing as a fast, flexible way to maintain safe, timely care.
In this article, we explore:
- How insourcing boosts cardiology capacity, helping trusts deliver outpatient clinics, diagnostics and procedures without adding pressure to core teams.
- Why insourcing is an effective complement to existing NHS pathways — supporting in-house services while retaining control over patient care and governance.
- What successful insourcing looks like in practice, with ID Medical teams helping Trusts reduce backlogs and sustain specialist service delivery.
Contents
- Introduction
- The Scale of the Cardiology Crisis
- How Insourcing Supports Cardiology Services
- Why NHS Trusts Are Turning to ID Medical Insourcing for Cardiology
- What NHS Leaders Are Saying About Insourced Cardiology Services
- Looking Ahead: A Sustainable Supplement to Core Cardiology Services
Introduction
With the NHS facing a critical shortage of Cardiologists and escalating demand for specialist heart care, trusts are under immense pressure to maintain safe, timely service delivery. Waiting lists for cardiology diagnostics and treatment continue to grow — and the challenge is compounded by workforce attrition, consultant vacancies, and limits on in-house capacity.
But there is a way forward.
Insourcing offers a rapid, flexible and governance-aligned route to expand capacity in cardiology without sacrificing control or quality. By deploying specialist cardiology teams into NHS sites during evenings, weekends and other underutilised slots, insourcing helps trusts to manage backlogs, meet RTT targets, and ensure continuity of care for patients.
The Scale of the Cardiology Crisis
At the start of 2025, there were over 425,000 people waiting for ‘routine’ cardiac care in England — the highest total on record.
According to the BHF’s Cardiac Workforce Census 2023–2024, 6.3% of Consultant Cardiology posts were either vacant or filled by a locum. Notably, 30% of these vacancies had been unfilled for over a year.
a report from The Guardian in April 2024 noted that more than 163,000 patients in England were waiting over 18 weeks for heart treatment, a fivefold increase since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These gaps don’t just increase pressure on hospitals. They place patients at serious risk, especially those with acute or undiagnosed cardiac conditions who require timely intervention.
How Insourcing Supports Cardiology Services
Insourcing provides an agile solution by placing vetted, external clinical teams directly into NHS settings. Unlike outsourcing — which shifts patients off-site — insourcing keeps all services within a trust’s infrastructure, maintaining complete continuity of care, governance standards, and patient experience. For cardiology services, this can include:
- Consultant-led outpatient clinics
- ECGs, echos and diagnostic imaging
- Stress testing and pacing services
- Full MDT support, including cardiac physiologists and specialist nurses
- On-site reporting and follow-up
By embedding additional capacity into the NHS without displacing services or fragmenting pathways, insourcing ensures patients receive expert care in a familiar setting — helping Trusts meet national targets while maintaining continuity and quality.
Why NHS Trusts Are Turning to ID Medical Insourcing for Cardiology
ID Medical delivers tailored insourced cardiology services that integrate seamlessly with local teams and systems, offering immediate, measurable benefits. We supply cardiology specialists from Consultants and Registrars to echo techs and admin support.
By bridging staffing gaps and supporting local pathways, ID Medical’s insourced cardiology services are helping NHS organisations restore resilience, reduce waiting times, and maintain high standards of care.
“Our insourcing model is designed to provide rapid, high-quality support that fits around existing pathways. By deploying fully staffed cardiology teams into NHS sites — often within weeks — we help Trusts reduce backlogs, protect continuity of care, and give permanent teams the breathing space they need.”
—Sarah Moss, Clinical Services Operations Manager, ID Medical
What NHS Leaders Are Saying About Insourced Cardiology Services
“When used appropriately, insourcing is an opportunity to maximise productivity and efficiency, for example, supporting the achievement of the 18‑week referral to treatment target.”
— NHS England guidance, July 2024
“Insourcing is vital to reducing NHS waiting list backlogs. It allows us to see patients more quickly, improving outcomes and reducing anxiety for those awaiting diagnosis or treatment.”
—Dr. Eric Holroyd, Consultant Cardiologist
“When used appropriately, insourcing is an opportunity to maximise productivity and efficiency, for example, supporting the achievement of the 18-week referral to treatment target.”
Looking Ahead: A Sustainable Supplement to Core Cardiology Services
In a stretched and specialist-heavy field like cardiology, insourcing is fast becoming an essential part of the solution. Rather than replacing core NHS services, it acts as a strategic supplement — filling short-term gaps, relieving pressure on internal teams, and supporting sustainable service delivery.
As demand for cardiac care continues to rise, so too does the need for agile workforce solutions that can flex with local pressures. Insourcing enables trusts to scale capacity quickly, make best use of existing infrastructure, and protect continuity of care — without compromising governance or clinical quality.
By placing experienced, pre-vetted professionals directly within NHS settings, insourcing ensures patients are seen sooner, pathways remain intact, and elective recovery targets are within reach.
At ID Medical, we believe insourcing has a long-term role to play in strengthening the NHS’s ability to meet specialist demand — not just as a temporary fix, but as a reliable lever for resilience, efficiency, and better patient outcomes.
We’re proud to already be supporting cardiology departments across the UK — delivering bespoke, high-performing insourced clinics aligned with local needs and national priorities.
Contact Us
If your Trust is exploring options to sustain or scale cardiology services, let’s talk.
Call us: +44 (0)1908 525 756
Email: clinicalservices@id-medical.com
Visit: www.id-medical.com/clinical-services
Free Forecast Savings Report
Would you like to find out how much your organisation could save through insourcing cardiology support? Simply get in touch and we can arrange this for you. You can view an example here.