Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 333: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to long waiting lists and a minimum nine month wait to receive an MRI scan in Galway; if his further attention has been drawn to the fact that this waiting time can be in addition to a nine month wait to see a consultant before an MRI scan is ordered; the way waiting times for MRI scans in Galway compare to those of other cities and counties; if he is reviewing this situation or if he is prepared to outline plans to clear the backlog; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13538/11]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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MRI requests are prioritised on the basis of clinical need. This priority is decided by Galway University Hospital based on the clinical details provided by the referring clinicians. In the last year, the radiology department at GUH introduced several initiatives to address waiting list problems. The hospital extended its hours of service from 9-5 to 8-5 and now remains open throughout lunch hour. This has increased patient throughput and reduced the wait time from 15 months to 8 months. The overall number of patients waiting for a scan has now reduced from 1115 to 273. GUH also received approval to outsource under the National Treatment Purchase Fund, where patients who are waiting longest are outsourced first and, to date this year, a total of 60 patients have been outsourced.

I realise that the number of patients still waiting on an MRI scan is unacceptable. As Minister for Health, I am determined to address the issues which cause delays in patients receiving treatment in our hospitals. The Government is committed to establishing a Special Delivery Unit (SDU) to improve access to the emergency and elective care system. The SDU is a Government priority and is one of the commitments from the Programme for Government 2011-2016 to be achieved within the first 100 days. Extensive work is currently being undertaken in designing the Unit, which will be modelled, in part, on the successful special delivery unit in Northern Ireland which substantially reduced waiting lists over two to three years.