Almost 1,000 people are on a waiting list for a bone scan at Portiuncula Hospital, as the scanner has been broken the past two years.
Galway TD Denis Naughten said that long suspended bone density scans won’t resume until next month, when the scanner is finally due to be replaced.
During the past two years, when the scanner has been broken and waiting lists have grown, just 90 people have been referred to another hospital for a scan, he added.
Of those waiting for a bone scan in Portiuncula Hospital, 658 people have been waiting for more than 18 months.
Figures also show that individuals continued to be placed on the waiting list during the period that the scanner has been broken.
Denis Naughten was informed by the HSE this week that “the reason DEXA scans were suspended was due to equipment failure and reconfiguration of the fluoroscopy suite”.
“I understand the scanner will be replaced next month under the National Equipment Replacement Programme,” stated Denis Naughten.
“However, it is difficult to understand how people continued to be added to the waiting list for over two years while the scanner was not in operation and why more patients were not referred to other hospitals during this time to ease the backlog.”
