BY DAVID FORSYTHE
A DEDICATED MRI scanner should be put in place at Bantry General Hospital to help reduce waiting lists and travel times for patients in West Cork and parts of Kerry, a recent meeting of Cork County Council’s West Cork Municipal District was told.
The issue was raised in a motion proposed by independent councillor Declan Hurley who said that his own personal experience of long delays waiting for an MRI scan last year had made him aware of the serious shortage of MRI scans in the healthcare system.
The motion states: ‘That Cork County Council call on the HSE to provide an MRI scanner for Bantry General Hospital to deal with the growing number of patients being added to waiting lists for urgent MRI scans.’
Cllr Hurley said: ‘I had a bad back and I went to my GP who said I needed an MRI. I got a referral to a private hospital but it took months. Most GPs and consultants now recommend MRIs over CT scans, and the waiting lists are getting longer and longer. Even after the scan is eventually done, you can be waiting weeks for the results.
‘An elderly gentleman told me he had been waiting 11 months for an MRI scan. That shouldn’t be happening in this day and age.
‘Staff are overstretched and everyone has to go to Cork. A scanner in Bantry would serve a wide area of West Cork as well as parts of Kerry.’
Supporting the motion Joe Carroll (FF) said: ‘I’ve been waiting for an appointment since February and when I rang the hospital they told me a new company has taken over and I’d have to apply for an appointment again!’
Cllr Paul Hayes (Ind) commented: ‘The whole system is a shambles at the moment. This is a fairly basic service for a first world country and you’d think it would be quite straightforward to sort it out.’
It was agreed in the first instance to write to David Donegan, Cork University Hospital group chief executive to outline the councillors’ request.
