Two-year wait for life-saving diagnostic scans

Public patients are being forced to wait up to two years for potentially life- saving diagnostic scans, despite international best practice saying they should be seen within six weeks.

New figures revealed at the weekend show that, unlike private patients, those depending on the public service are witnessing excessive delays for MRI, CT and ultrasound scans.

The procedures are key to producing detailed images of patients’ bones and internal organs, which are then used to assess conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, joints and heart, among others.

International best practice suggests patients should wait no longer than six weeks for access to the scans should they be required, with the NHS in Britain recently noting that just 1.8% of patients in England and 3.8% in Scotland have to wait longer than this period.

However, despite early detection significantly increasing the chances of a quick recovery from a host of illnesses — a point repeatedly made by successive health ministers — official figures obtained by a Sunday newspaper show Ireland is failing to reach these aims.

The longest average wait for a consultant referral for an MRI scan is at Waterford Regional (837 days) and the shortest is at Sligo General (70).

The longest average waiting time for GP referrals for a CT scan is at Limerick Regional (one year) and the shortest at Sligo General (62 days).

While “urgent” cases are seen more quickly, the same pattern is apparent, with an urgent consultant CT referral taking as long as 70 days at Cavan General and an urgent consultant or GP ultrasound referral taking up to 80 days at Kerry General.

Even when patients obtain a scan, doctors warn a second unofficial waiting list also has to be navigated, as results have to be re-examined by under-resourced senior medics.

A consultant radiologist, who declined to be named, said: “There’s lots of equipment, but it is only being used five days a week at some hospitals and it is not running round the clock.”