Patients waiting five weeks for x-rays

THE waiting time for routine GP referral x-rays has worsened at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital.

Patients now have a five-week wait before they get an appointment.

A spokesman for the Health Service Executive said the waiting time for an x-ray at Ennis hospital is two weeks and at Nenagh hospital just five days.

St John’s Hospital in Limerick, which is under the direct control of the Department of Health, has a waiting time of three days for x-ray patients referred by a GP.

Limerick GPs have complained at the delays in getting x-ray appointments for patients with these complaints at the region’s main hospital. They also claim many patients not wishing to wait five weeks now go directly to A&E for prompt x-ray screening.

A Mid-West Hospital source said the wait for routine GP referrals is longer there as the hospital did all the complicated and major x-ray work in the region.

The prioritising of this more urgent x-ray work, he said, means GP referrals have to go down the queue.

Liam Murray, radiography manager at St John’s Hospital, said GP patients must get faster access to x-ray appointments to reduce pressure on A&E departments.

He said: “An effective and efficient appointment system allows for patient access at more convenient times and in a controlled manner.”