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‘Working in the dark’: Patients wait almost a year for medical scans
Victorians are waiting almost a year for medical scans at public hospitals due to staff shortages and a lack of imaging equipment.
The situation is postponing the diagnosis of medical conditions, delaying treatment and causing unnecessary stress for patients and their families, according to health worker unions. Scans for cancer and other serious illnesses can take up to 11 months at some public hospitals, and health services have reported turning away patients who need results within weeks.
“Medical imaging is the cornerstone of diagnostics, and if you can’t get that done you are working in the dark,” said Andrew Hewat, the executive officer of the Victorian Allied Health Professionals Association, which represents thousands of health workers including radiographers and sonographers.
Simranjit Kaur says she lay in a bed at Box Hill Hospital for a week while waiting for an MRI. Credit: Joe Armao
Hewat said some Victorians were enduring waits of almost a year for non-urgent specialty scans, such as breast MRIs at some public hospitals. These scans are sought out by people under 50 who have a high risk of developing breast cancer due to family history.
Hewat is also aware of delays of almost three months for non-contrast MRI scans at one health service, as well as a 12-week wait for routine ultrasounds for non-pregnancy-related conditions.
The union blames the delays on a national shortage of radiographers, radiologists and sonographers, as well as the federal health department not granting enough MRI licences. These licences are needed in order for scans performed by the equipment to be eligible for Medicare.
One health worker, who did not have authority to speak publicly, confirmed these waiting times and expressed frustration at the situation.
“We just don’t have enough scanners for the volume of work we get,” they said, adding that they sometimes had to turn patients away who needed semi-urgent scans in under three weeks.
“It’s frustrating because we want to fit everyone in. They think, ‘Why do I have to take my referral and pay a gap fee for a scan I should have been able to access at my local public hospital?’”
Many people choose to have a diagnostic scan at a private radiology clinic or private hospital and pay a gap fee, but the majority of scans are free in public hospitals. Bulk billing is often not a widely available option at private clinics.
While many patients are waiting in the community, in some cases, patients are occupying a hospital bed until scanning equipment becomes available.
In March, nurse Simranjit Kaur spent almost a week in a bed at Box Hill Hospital waiting for an MRI. She arrived at the emergency department with excruciating pain in her lower back that made it difficult to walk.
“They had limited resources and had to prioritise more critical cases,” she said.
Kaur asked her treating team if she might leave the hospital to seek out a more timely MRI in a private facility but was told she was not well enough to be discharged.
“I had to wait in agony, confined to a hospital bed with only pain relief medication to sustain me.”
Kaur has multiple sclerosis, and doctors suspected that her pain might be linked to a flare-up of the condition or a pre-existing back injury.
Following the lengthy wait for the MRI scan, Kaur said she then had to wait in hospital for another three days for a CT scan.
Information from this scan was used to determine the ideal location for a steroid injection in her back, which provided immediate relief and enabled her to be discharged.
While she can’t fault the care she received from nurses and doctors at the hospitals, Kaur said the ordeal took a toll on her health while placing pressure on the healthcare system, her young family and her colleagues.
“The financial burden of lost work hours and wasted taxpayer money is undeniable – resources that could have been used more efficiently had diagnostic services been promptly available,” she said.
A spokeswoman for Eastern Health, which runs Box Hill Hospital, said while the health service was unable to comment on individual patients, “there is substantial demand for MRI across the state”.
She said the health service operated two MRI scanners and priority access was based on clinical urgency.
“Our staff are working incredibly hard to meet this growing demand, and we are currently reviewing opportunities for expansion, including through both state and Commonwealth government[s] to increase availability of Medicare-funded services.”
A shortage of radiologists and an increasing workload means there are also lengthy delays in producing written reports for radiology scans that have already been done.
One hospital source, who was not authorised to speak publicly, said there was a backlog of more than 15,000 X-ray reports and other tests at the Royal Children’s Hospital due to a shortage of radiologists.
The situation prompted hospital executives to commission a report by Ernst and Young and alert the state’s medical watchdog, Safer Care Victoria.
A Safer Care Victoria spokesperson said it was aware of the reporting backlog and was supporting the Royal Children’s Hospital.
A Royal Children’s Hospital spokeswoman said while there was a backlog in producing written reports for radiology scans, there was no backlog in performing the scans themselves.
Demand for non-urgent MRI scans is leaving many people with little choice but to bear the expense in private clinics.Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
“The RCH acted quickly to review operations and has since directed additional staffing and resources to address the written reporting backlog,” she said.
“Imaging continues without delay, and all scans are immediately uploaded into patients’ electronic medical records. Treating clinicians can access and review these scans in real time to make timely clinical decisions based on urgency.”
Australian Medical Association Victorian president Jill Tomlinson said delays in accessing scans and receiving imaging reports could erode trust in the health system and cause considerable anxiety.
“If we want people to get the right care, in the right place, at the right time we need to make sure there is timely access to diagnostic tests, including radiology and pathology,” she said.
She said many Victorians were unable to afford these scans in the private system due to the low indexation of Medicare rebates.
“We really do need to see the federal government increase Medicare rebates for patients if they are not going to be available in a timely manner in or public health services,” she said.
Opposition health spokesperson Georgie Crozier called on the state government to urgently investigate the issue so that patients could be treated in a timely manner.
“This is having a significant impact on the management and care of very vulnerable and sick people,” she said, adding that the delays were imposing additional costs on the healthcare system.
A Victorian government spokesperson said more than 40,000 healthcare workers had been recruited to Victoria’s health system and the government was making sure hospitals had the equipment and infrastructure they needed. “Every Victorian deserves access to world-class health services, no matter where they live,” the spokesperson said.
The state government funds a $315 million medical equipment replacement program, which helps hospitals purchase new equipment including diagnostic tools such as MRI machines.
A spokesman for the federal health department said there were 108 Medicare-eligible MRI machines in Victoria and this number was set to increase, with all MRIs in metropolitan areas to be made fully Medicare-eligible from July 1, 2027.
Professor John Slavotinek, president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists, said there was a global shortage of radiologists that was affecting Australia.
“[We] continue to strongly advocate for greater investment in and funding of radiology training and services to ensure patients have access to quality, timely care,” he said.
“We are actively engaged with government, industry, and key stakeholders to advocate for increased, long-term investment to build a sustainable radiation and radiation oncology health workforce.”
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