Computer change creates a massive backlog Anxious patients face long wait for their scan results

aclaridge@thekmgroup.co.uk Nervous patients in Canterbury are facing massive delays for the results of hospital scan results after a new computer system went into meltdown.

About 17,000 people across east Kent are waiting up to eight weeks for vital MRI and CT scans.

Overworked staff have been left grappling with a mountainous backlog created by switching from the old system to the new.

GE Healthcare, the firm which created the software, admits there are issues with its radiology equipment and insists it is sorting them out.

Journalist Rachael Woods, of Whitstable Road, visited the radiology unit this week and was appalled by what she heard.

She said: “The receptionist said they’d only had 30 minutes training on the system and, when they used it weeks later, many couldn’t remember what to do.

“They have bone density scans taken in June where the results still haven’t been given out. They said it was a huge cost-cutting exercise.”

But the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust denies staff weren’t properly trained and appeared to blame GE Healthcare for the problems.

Spokesman Peter Gilmour said: “We are doing everything we can to ensure that we resolve the complex issues as soon as possible, but recognise these technical issues are not simple and straightforward.

“We would like to thank our local MPs for their support and their efforts to put pressure on GE to resolve these issues.

“Staff were given extensive training six weeks before going live with the new system. GE Healthcare took an additional 17 days to transfer the data which resulted in refresher training being required for some staff.”

GE Healthcare, based in Amersham. Buckinghamshire, promised it would repair the problems.

Spokesman Dominic McMullan said: “We know how important these tests are, together with the need for prompt clinical analysis and communication of results to patients, and we are doing eall we can to ensure that the issues are resolved.”

What to do you think about the lengthy waits for scans? Are you anxious about when your results will arrive? Email kentishgazette@ thekmgroup.co.uk or write to Gazette House, Estuary View Business Park, Whitstable, CT5 3SE.