X-ray procedures report ordered
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Wednesday March 10 2010
Health chiefs have ordered hospitals around the country to report back on their X-ray procedures after one of Ireland's largest hospitals admitted 57,000 cases went unchecked.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) gave no timeframe for the nationwide audit sparked by the discovery of a massive backlog at Tallaght Hospital.
Watchdogs also said they were not told of the scale of the unreported X-rays in Tallaght until January - nine months after it first raised concerns - while Health Minister Mary Harney admitted she was unaware of the extent of the mammoth trawl until this week.
In a statement, an HSE spokeswoman said they were checking all other hospitals in case of similar problems. "The HSE is currently liaising with its hospitals and voluntary hospitals around the country to compile information in relation to radiology reporting," she said. "This process is being carried out by the HSE's Serious Untoward Incident Unit (SUI)."
An investigation was launched when Tallaght Hospital chiefs said two patients - one of whom later died and another who is now undergoing cancer treatment - had their diagnoses delayed as a result of the build-up between 2005 and the end of last year.
The recently-appointed chief executive of the south Dublin hospital, Professor Kevin Conlon, is reviewing the cause of death.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) said when concerns were first raised by a GP about Tallaght Hospital last April it was told some 4,000 X-rays were waiting to be reported on - with the figure reducing in the following months.
However Professor Conlon reported in January that the backlog had soared to 57,000.
Although extra consultants were drafted in December to cut the backlog - which is down to about 23,000 - the remaining X-rays are not expected to be cleared until May.
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) maintained radiologists wrote more than 40 letters to Tallaght Hospital bosses over recent years complaining about a growing backlog in X-rays.
