Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The issue relates specifically to the MRI scan service at our largest paediatric hospital, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin.

It has an impressive record of care for children and continues to have that reputation nationally and beyond. The issue is the delay in the scanning service. I have had representations from parents about the increase in the backlog and staff at the hospital have also highlighted this issue recently. We all share concern about the lack of out of hour MRI services for emergency cases. Waiting times for scans for children have continued to climb despite the fact that the hospital, to its credit, has moved to provide a Saturday morning MRI service, for which I praise it.

Out of every 74 requests the hospital receives for scans only 42 per week are carried out. We have to find a way to resolve this. I appreciate that, as staff have said, scans are time consuming. They can take up to 45 minutes and children under the age of two years require sedation while those under seven have a general anaesthetic. The service in Crumlin is used for 35 hours a week. The hospital management has discussed this with the HSE. Despite the difficult times we are in, improving the health services is not always a question of providing money. There are customs and practices that deserve to be considered. It is a matter of improving this service and trying to move away from a situation where some children wait as long as 27 months for a scan. I hope that, with the cooperation of the Department of Health, the HSE and hospital management, it might be possible to improve the service.

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