Health

Patient access to diagnostic scans restricted as demand ‘far exceeds’ funding

Almost 80% of allocation for hospital scans was used up in first two months of year

Prof Rob Landers said the IHCA was 'extremely concerned'. Photograph: Eoghan Dalton

Paul Cullen
Fri May 3 2024 - 06:27

Patient access to diagnostic scans in hospitals is being restricted because demand “far exceeds” the available funding this year.

The restrictions imposed on the issuing of vouchers for diagnostic scans will lead to longer waiting lists for many patients, consultants have warned.

Unprecedented demand for scans under the Emergency Diagnostic Authorisation Numbers (EDANs) scheme has seen almost 80 per cent of this year’s allocation for hospitals used in the first two months of the year.

As a result, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has paused authorisations for scans while it seeks extra funding from the HSE.

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Vouchers for 55,000 radiology scans were issued by the NTPF by the end of February, and the remaining balance of 15,000 will be rationed across health regions.

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association said that more than 260,000 were already on diagnostic waiting lists at the end of last year, up 41 per cent over the past four years. More than one-fifth were waiting for longer than one year.

“The association is extremely concerned that the NTPF has decided to pause and ration these diagnostic scans for the remainder of 2024, due to a lack of available funds. The withdrawal of the scheme is also counterproductive given that the NTPF continues to fund other clinical waiting-list initiatives which serve to generate more radiology requests,” the association’s president, Prof Rob Landers, said.

According to the association, some hospitals have already exceeded their voucher allocations for certain types of scans and are in the process of “retracting” a number of arranged scans for patients that were due to be carried out by private providers.

The NTPF, in correspondence sent to the association, said “the demand [for scans] in 2024 to date has been unprecedented. As a result, a large proportion of this allocation has now been claimed and utilised by public hospitals”.

In a statement, the NTPF said it must operate an appropriate budgeting system with an agreed funding allocation.

The €13 million allocated to the scheme this year will provide 70,000 diagnostics, an 8 per cent increase on last year.

“The scheme supports public hospitals to alleviate pressure on emergency departments by providing additional capacity for diagnostic scans, helping facilitate patient flow. It was never intended to be used for routine diagnostic scans that should be performed as part of general hospital activity.”

“Due to ongoing high demand, approximately 55,000 EDANs have now been claimed and utilised by public hospitals.

“The NTPF has made the HSE aware that demand far exceeds the available funding. It remains committed to ensuring this year’s remaining EDANs are proportionally allocated.”

Paul Cullen

Paul Cullen

Paul Cullen is a former heath editor of The Irish Times.

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