Public hospitals spend €940k on private MRI scans

Two new MRI scanners could have been bought by Galway’s public hospitals last year, with the amount of money they spent sending public patients to private hospitals to perform diagnostic scans.

Some 4,522 patients were referred to private facilities for scans last year at a cost of €938,500 to the public purse.

This is because there is only one MRI scanner at University Hospital Galway, and there are thousands on public waiting lists for medical imaging scans.

The cost of a much-needed second MRI machine at UHG would be in the region of €500,000.

Politicians, doctors and local hospital management have repeatedly flagged the need for a second MRI at UHG and Merlin Park.

Now, new figures obtained by Fine Gael TD, Hildegarde Naughton reveal that it would make economic sense to purchase a second one, and it would result in substantial financial savings in the medium to long run.

The Galway West Deputy has discovered that over the past three years, a total of 11,921 patients have been referred by the hospital to private operators for medical imaging scans in the past three years at a cost to the taxpayer of €2,342,370.

Deputy Naughton, who obtained the information through a series of parliamentary questions, described the situation as unacceptable and said money was being wasted in the absence of  common sense.

“A new MRI scanner would cost in the region of €500,000. Instead of investing in one, almost a million euro was spent last year on a stopgap solution by outsourcing scans to a private company,” she said.

“This makes no sense from either an economic or clinical perspective, and is doing a disservice to both taxpayers and patients who are waiting up to two years to undergo diagnostic scans.”

A single MRI scanner is currently being utilised at full capacity at UHG, operating from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday, with extended working days two days per week.

Despite this, 4,522 patients were referred to private facilities for scans last year at a cost of €938,500. In 2015, 4,234 scans were outsourced at a cost of €761,030.

Deputy Naughton, a member of the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare, said that this money would be better spent on a new MRI scanner and associated costs.

“It can’t be said that the hospital cannot afford a new MRI scanner. It’s clear that an abundance of money is being found to pay private operators to carry out medical imaging scans,” she said.

“If some of this was reallocated for a new scanner, through-put could be doubled and those patients who have found themselves waiting up to two years could receive the attention that they are entitled to expect.”

A business case for a second MRI scanner was submitted to the HSE last year. Additional funding for equipment and staffing would also be required. The hospital has said that potential locations for a new scanner are currently being explored.

At the latest HSE West Regional Health Forum, Ann Cosgrove Chief Operating Officer at Saolta University Healthcare Group, stressed the need for a second MRI in Galway.

She also revealed that Galway is operating with 17 fewer radiographers than required, due to vacancies, sick and maternity leave.

The Connacht Tribune reported also last week how public patients are waiting an average of almost two years for an MRI scan in Galway – with more than 2,400 people on the list.

Urgent cases, of which there were 93, are on the waiting list for three months. Waiting times for CT scans are even longer – at the moment 163 urgent cases are waiting nearly four months.