Massive backlog in radiology scans sparks emergency doctor meeting

The Health Minister says her department is “throwing everything” at a massive backlog of radiology scans, as it is revealed thousands of patients could be living with undiagnosed cancer or life-threatening conditions as a result of the problem.

Gold Coast University Hospital

Queenslanders could be living with undiagnosed cancer or life-threatening conditions, as more than 50,000 radiology scans sit unreported at one the state’s busiest hospitals.

Clinicians warn that problems in imaging services and staff shortages are likely causing the critical backlogs across the state.

An emergency doctors’ forum was held at the Gold Coast University Hospital last Thursday to discuss radiology problems at the facility, which runs the busiest emergency department in Queensland.

Queensland Health has confirmed 54,000 scans are backlogged and expected to take two or three months to clear.

Several whistleblowers have revealed to The Courier-Mail that staff are fearful over the unprocessed scans, backlogged over a period of 18 months.

Some fear legal action due to unreported scans causing serious adverse outcomes.

“There is the constant worry about how many tumours or serious issues are being missed or delayed,” a staff member said.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman on Thursday promised the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service is “throwing everything” it can at the issue, which she said was largely caused by workforce shortages impacting the health sector as a whole.

Calling the backlog “unacceptable”, Ms Fentiman said she was not aware of the issue at any other state hospital.

“My main message today is to any patients at the Gold Coast, I want them to know that all scans are reviewed by senior clinicians … and a radiologist will also review them but there are no scans that have gone unreviewed or unchecked,” she said.

“Senior clinicians and specialists are absolutely looking at those scans.”

This same problem with stockpiled scans at the Gold Coast facility was investigated by the Health Ombudsman almost 10 years ago, with the OHO finding then that patients were exposed to increased clinical risk.

“Why are we back here? Why has this been allowed to happen again?” a source said.

Plain or “simple” films can be reviewed in emergency or by an inpatient/outpatient referring doctor but without a radiologist’s expertise there could be serious health consequences for the patient.

Medical litigation lawyer Clare Eves said she had acted for clients who had lost loved ones because of missed or delayed diagnoses.

“Missed or delayed diagnoses of a serious health condition, like cancer, can cause catastrophic outcome,” said Ms Eves, of Shine Lawyers.

“We’ve acted for clients who’ve lost loved ones “because of missed diagnoses and have seen the devastation caused from time sensitive health conditions not being addressed.

“The impact of not acting on these results could mean a worse outcome for many patients or in some instances a terminal condition that could have been prevented.”

Ms Eves urged anybody who was yet to receive their scan results to consult their GP.

“Delays of this nature are unacceptable and are putting people at risk,” she said.

“They need to be addressed by the health department as a matter of urgency.”

Proposals that emerged from the emergency meeting included the need for more outsourcing of imaging services and a recruitment drive for more radiologists on staff.

Frustrated workers wanted to know if they had permission from the HHS to not order radiology in some circumstances.

Doctors said that patient numbers do not reflect the demand for imaging, as the GCUH patients had complex issues like trauma. And as a tertiary hospital, there were more subspecialties involved, such as paediatric surgery.

Rising demand for imaging and an exodus of radiologists from the public sector due to changes in Medicare billings are to blame for the backlogs, whistleblowers claim.

Radiologists can earn millions in private practice.

“When their public pay cheque got cut dramatically, many moved into private services,” a source said.

The office of the Health Ombudsman’s report was released in August 2016.

The probe found that there were significant numbers of patients whose radiology plain X-ray films were unreported.

A Gold Coast HHS spokesman said: “Like many healthcare services across the country, and in fact, worldwide, Gold Coast Health is facing shortages in its medical imaging workforce …

“We have taken a range of measures to manage demand and ensure the most significant diagnostic results are being addressed first.”

A Queensland Health spokesperson said it had a number of initiatives to attract medical staff, including a recruitment drive targeting interstate and overseas specialists, and financial incentives to entice specialists to move to Queensland to work.

“We strongly support any measures that will reduce the barriers for international clinicians to relocate to Australia,” they said.

The spokesperson added that outsourcing had been a longstanding and commonly used option to supplement in-house services for a number of medical specialties.

Originally published as Massive backlog in radiology scans sparks emergency doctor meeting