MRI scan waiting times at Altnagelvin now up to two years

New figures released by the Health Minister Robin Swann reveal that between 2015/16 and 2019/20 the average wait for a scan increased from 16.3 weeks to 23 weeks.

That’s an increase of 6.7 weeks to almost two years with the vast majority of the data relating to before the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis in March.

Altnagelvin posted the fifth longest wait for an MRI scan in the north last year after the Mid Ulster (28.9 weeks), Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children (26.3 weeks), South Tyrone (24.5 weeks) and the Mater Infirmorum (24.3 weeks).

Mr. Swann released the data in response to an Assembly question and revealed the average wait across all Western Trust hospitals rose from 15.5 weeks to 22 weeks over the five year period.

The average waiting time at Omagh at the end of last year was 22.6 weeks while the average wait at the South West Acute Hospital was 17.1 weeks. MRI patients in the Western Trust are now waiting twice as long on average for a scan than their counterparts in other areas.

The averages in the four other health authorities were Northern (11.7 weeks), Southern (10.7 weeks), Belfast (10.1 weeks) and the South Eastern (9.4 weeks).

MRIs are an important diagnostic tool used to help detect and treat a wide range of conditions.