Naas Hospital is now working on 2017 patients waiting for bone density scans due to a lack of radiographers despite assurances from Minister for Health Simon Harris earlier this year that services would resume.
New GP referrals for vital scans to diagnose osteoporosis to people, typically over 50 years old, stopped taking place at Naas Hospital, 12 months ago. However, despite reassurances, from Minister for Health in a letter to North Kildare TD, Frank O'Rourke, that normal services would resume at Naas, due to recruitment of radiographers, no new patients are being seen for Dexa scans.
A staff member at the radiology department in Naas, says due to lack of staff, they are now working on appointments for 2017, with new referrals being sent on to Clane for private and Tallaght for public.
A North Kildare woman in her early fifties who is diagnosed with osteopenia, when bones are weaker than normal, and is receiving calcium tablets, is now awaiting an appointment for a bone density scan, to see if she has osteoporosis. She is on the medical card and will be waiting until December for an appointment at St Vincent’s Hospital.
She said: "I rang so many hospitals and was refused, I am holding out for as long as I can, before I am forced to go private, December is a long time to wait."
A Co Kildare GP says that delays with Dexa scans leads to delays in putting patients on the correct medication and that generally people should not be waiting more than three months for an appointment, but a backlog at Naas, due to lack of resources, means many public patients are being forced to pay at least €100 for a scan that should be provided free on the medical card.
Deputy Frank O’Rourke says that he plans to raise the delays with reopening the Dexa scan service at Naas Hospital to normal service in the Dáil next week.
The letter from Minister Harris to Deputy O’Rourke in January 24, last, said: “The HSE has informed my Department that the position in relation to Dexa scanning in hospitals in the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group is as follows.:Naas General Hospital; Dexa scans are provided to out patients and GP patients on their current waiting list. The hospital has recently recruited additional radiographers to fill existing vacancies and a further recruitment campaign is being held to fill the remaining vacancies. St James's Hospital provides a Dexa scanning service and accepts GP referrals. Tallaght University Hospital provides a limited Dexa scanning service. The hospital accepts referrals from their consultants and their NCHDs. The Midlands Regional Hospital, Tullamore expects to commence a Dexa scanning service in April of this year.”
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