More than quarter of a million people waiting for diagnostic scans

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly confirmed that as of the end of the first three months of this year, 276,004 were on waiting lists across Irish hospitals for a CT scan, an MRI scan or an ultrasound.

More than a quarter of a million people were left on waiting lists for diagnostic scans at the end of the first quarter of 2024.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly confirmed that as of the end of the first three months of this year, 276,004 were on waiting lists across Irish hospitals for a CT scan, an MRI scan or an ultrasound.

That represents an increase of more than 30,000 on the figures at the end of 2023 and more than 40,000 on the same period last year.

At the beginning of 2019, the figure was 170,034.

The figures are collected as part of a project from the National Integrated Medical Imaging System with the support of the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF).

Of the first-quarter figure for 2024:

• 90,202 were awaiting an ultrasound scan;
• 40,649 (15%) had been waiting for a scan for more than 18 months; 
• 23% were on the list for more than a year.

Cork University Hospital had 11,535 people on its waiting list at the end of the first quarter of the year, the majority awaiting an MRI scan (4,916).

Of those 11,535, 1,340 had been waiting for more than 18 months for a scan.

Earlier this month, the NTPF warned of a .

It issues emergency diagnostic authorisation numbers to hospitals to undertake the tests.

However, at the end of February it paused authorisations for scans after "unprecedented demand"

It said it had enough funding in place for 70,000 radiology scans in 2024 — but by February, 55,000 codes had already been issued to hospitals.

Under its 2024 Waiting List Action Plan, the Government approved "significant funding" of €437m to the HSE and NTPF to support continued reduction in waiting lists and waiting times in 2024.

Of that figure, Mr Donnelly said €179m was to be given to the NTPF.

Under the plan, the Department of Health, HSE and NTPF proposed to support delivery of services to remove about 1.81 million patients from active waiting lists around the country, with the NTPF committing to delivering a 10% increase in removals.