Four-month wait for urgent MRIs

Public patients deemed by consultants at Cork University Hospital (CUH) to require an urgent MRI scan currently face a wait of over four months for these vital scans, while patients at Dublin's Mater Hospital can face a three-month wait for urgent MRI tests.

CUH, one of the biggest hospitals in the country, does not have its own MRI scanner and must rely on a private scanner on its site to scan public patients referred from outpatient clinics. The HSE says there are limited slots for public patients available on the private scanner.

Latest HSE statistics also show that many patients around the country currently face long waits for urgent scanning, having been referred by a consultant from outpatients.

The latest HSE figures show it takes 126 days for a public patient to get an urgent MRI on an outpatient basis at CUH after being referred for a scan by a consultant at the hospital.

Those seeking an non-urgent MRI at the hospital face a wait of 140 days.

A HSE South spokesman told irishhealth.com that CUH does not have a publicly-funded MRI scanner and commenced arrangements with an on-site private consortium in 1995 to provide this service to patients.

"This arrangement has served the hospital adequately over the years but demand for the service has grown substantially, in line with best medical practice. CUH has a limited number of publicly-funded MRI appointments which are assigned to patients based on clinical urgency," the spokesman said.

The MRI at CUH site is provided at a private consultants' clinic on the hospital site.

The spokesman said that provision of a public MRI scanner is a priority project for CUH and the HSE South is actively pursuing capital funding for this project. "A revised business case in support of this project is currently being finalised."

Statistics from the HSE show that many patients in different hospitals face long waits for urgent MRI scans on an outpatient basis, and waits can stretch into years for public outpatient appointments at some hospital clinics.

At the Mater, it currently takes over two months for public patients to get an urgent MRI scan carried out there after being referred by a consultant, according to the HSE statistics, which are for March of this year.

A Mater spokesperson confirmed that current waiting times for MRI scans can be approximately three months "depending on urgency and clinical information."  The hospital said private patients were not prioritised for scans and have the option to attend the Mater Private Hospital for MRI.

Mater patients can be waiting up to six months for routine MRI scans, according to the hospital.

The hospital said all MRI referrals were reviewed by its clinical radiology specialist.

It said the level of demand and the fact that there is only one MRI scanner at the public hospital were the factors affecting the length of time it takes to get a scan.

At Cavan General Hospital, it currently takes a month for a public patient to get an urgent MRI following a consultant referral, and there is a similar waiting time for a consultant-referred urgent MRI at St James's in Dublin, according to an analysis of the HSE's HealthStat figures provided to irishhealth.com.

Those booked for non-urgent MRI scans can face longer waits after being referred for a scan by a consultant.

If you are referred by a consultant for a routine MRI, it takes 196 days (five months) at Beaumont; 245 days (eight months) at the Mater and 195 days (six months) at Waterford Regional and Mayo General, according to the HSE figures.

The HSE in Dublin confirmed to irishhealth.com that its "consultant-to-hospital referral wait" statistics referred to the time it takes to get a test done at a hospital having been referred for one by a consultant in the hospital. The statistics, the HSE confirmed, refer to public patients.

Under the new consultant contract which has been implemented since late 2008, it was promised that public and private patients would have equal access to diagnostic tests in public hospitals.

Figures for patient waits following GP referrals for MRI scans were not available from most hospitals in the March statistics, according to the HSE. This is believed to be due to the industrial action taking place at the time which prevented processing of much statistical data.

The statistics, however, show public patients have to wait an average of four-and-a-half years for an outpatient appointment with an ENT surgeon at Kerry General Hospital, having been referred by their GP.

The statistics for March show that the average wait for an ENT clinic appointment in Kerry General is 1,670 days. Some patients may have to wait for even longer periods.

Asked about this, the HSE South spokesman said an initiative is now underway to reduce medical outpatient waiting times at Kerry Hospital whereby consultants are targeting waiting periods with dedicated clinics for new referrals.

"In addition, an outpatients department analysis is currently underway at Kerry Hospital in order to improve the efficiency of the service."

The HSE's breakdown of public outpatient waits in different specialties in hospitals around the country also shows that the average waiting time to see an orthopaedic surgeon at outpatients in Tallaght Hospital is three years.

Tallaght, which was at the centre of a controversy over unopened referral letters and unread x-rays, has relatively low waiting times for MRI scan waits compared to other hospitals.

At Portlaoise Hospital, the average waiting time for a general surgery outpatient appointment is three-and-a-half years, while at Limerick Regional, the average wait for an ENT clinic appointment is nearly three years.

The figures also show that the average waiting time for a orthopaedic OPD appointment at Louth General Hospital is currently nearly three years.

The hospital with the longest overall waiting list for outpatient appointments across all specialties is at Galway University Hospital, where the average wait is 405 days.

The HSE has not produced figures the the total number of patients on outpatient clinic waiting lists across the country for a number of years.

It is estimated, however, that there are at least 175,000 patients on these lists nationally. The HSE is currently undertaking a national review of outpatient waiting lists.

[Posted: Fri 18/06/2010]