Robison to meet crisis radiologists
HEALTH secretary Shona Robison will meet Scotland’s stretched radiologists after serious concerns were revealed by The Sunday Post.
We reported last week that senior doctors at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness had taken the unusual step of writing to NHS Highland chiefs “expressing significant concerns about the problems” in radiology.
Safety fears have been raised internally by radiologists at Raigmore since 2014, when there were 13 specialists working at the hospital.
Now there are only nine working across NHS Highland after two left in the last six months.
One radiologist told The Sunday Post: “These letters have been sent because there is a feeling of utter despair.”
Dr Grant Baxter, chair of the Royal College of Radiologists for Scotland, last night called for urgent action to address the shortage.
He said: “The lack of radiologists is now critical, the speciality is on its knees. Patient care is suffering, NHS Highland is far from unique and we need action now.”
Earlier this year the Royal College of Radiologists warned its services across all of Scotland were “on the brink of collapse” due to chronic vacancies, low trainee numbers and soaring demand.
As well as being responsible for scans and x-rays, radiologists carry out a number of key surgical procedures.
But NHS boards across Scotland have been failing to attract radiologists to vacancies and are increasingly reliant on the private sector to examine scan images.