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.