Scans are all clear

Hospital backlog of 2,500 images ‘due to staff issue’

CORK University Hospital has cleared a backlog of almost 2,500 unread scans which arose due to a staffing issue.

Following a review, 14 patients were recalled but there were no cases of adverse outcomes, the department said.

Some of the scans were recalled because the originals were unclear or unreadable. Cork University Hospital is in the same group as University Hospital Kerry, which is at the centre of the ongoing controversy over 46,300 radiology scans that have had to be reviewed.

In a statement, the South-south West Hospital Group said the radiology department at Cork experienced one episode of protracted and unexpected sick leave. One extra radiologist was given a national role as the Dean of the Faculty of Radiology, which coincided with the peak holiday period.

Replacement cover was approved by the hospital but no suitable person was found when the job was advertised. The hospital said in a statement: “This left an unmet number of 2,466 plain film scans out of an annual total of 166,000 images, approximately 1.5%.”

The team of radiologists was engaged and paid to clear the unread scans and the hospital said this work was now complete.

Of these scans, 14 patients were scheduled for follow-ups. The hospital said this would be in keeping with normal practice, as scans may not be sufficiently definitive.

It added the CUH Quality and Safety Office continues to monitor the situation.

Cork Hospital said it was a well managed situation given the unforeseen staffing issue.