Save Bridlington Hospital

Hospital patients are having to undergo second X-rays and scans because of vital records going missing.

Hospital managers have admitted doctors have been unable to find a fifth of records when patients come for appointments.

The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary, Castle Hill and the Princess Royal hospitals, carries out about 300,000 X-rays and scans a year. But about 60,000 of those are lost or delayed when being moved around sites.

Today, managers blamed the trust's outdated system for recording and transferring scans and said they hoped to be given funding for a new hi-tech system.

But patients today said the chaotic system was unacceptable, particularly when they were awaiting results from scans.

Last November, Hull clubland star Johnny Pat had to wait an extra five days to find out whether chemotherapy had eradicated his bowel cancer because his MRI scan had gone missing. Eventually, his consultant searched the hospital himself to find the scan.

Mr Pat, lead singer of The Aces, said: "You go through the diagnosis and feel absolutely rotten with the chemotherapy and then have the MRI scan to see if it's worked.

"The easy bit should be taking the photo and transporting it across the hospital. It's not rocket science.

"I had built myself up to find out if it was a yes or no, but then I had to wait another five days looking at my body and wondering what was in there."

Mr Pat, of east Hull, eventually got a call to say the treatment had been successful on December 2, his 64th birthday.

He said: "The way they transport scans has to be improved. It's sad because the rest of the treatment I received was fantastic."

Currently porters transport the scans by hand, but often do not get them to doctors in time for patients' appointments. Some scans simply go missing and are not found.

Up to 90 per cent of hospital patients require scans, including X-rays, ultrasound and MRI scans, to diagnose and assess conditions, some of them life-threatening, such as cancer.

Today, Dr Ged Avery, clinical director of radiology, said he was unable to say exactly how many records had been lost, and how many patients were affected.

However, he admitted the problems often delayed diagnoses and treatment.

Dr Avery said: "The system leads to delays and people cannot always be married up with their scan.

"We can't progress with an appointment when the X-ray isn't there. The current system is unreliable. There's too much room for human error.

"It's frustrating for us, and for patients, when the system fails."

The trust is now seeking approval from the Strategic Health Authority to buy a £4m Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) to store every scan electronically.

The trust, which is predicting a deficit of £12.6m by April, estimates the system would save £11m over the next nine years in staffing and chemicals costs.

Ruth Marsden, chairman of the Public and Patient Involvement Forum for the trust, said: "Currently, it's very difficult to make sure X-rays are in the right place at the right time and this is why we desperately need the new system."

Mrs Marsden has sat on a patient group overseeing the clinical imaging department for six years and says delays with scans had been a problem for at least that long.

Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart said: "It's one of the scandals of the NHS that so many operations and appointments are avoidably cancelled. If the trust moves quickly to rectify what is clearly an unacceptable situation, it will have my full support."

The Government has introduced a target for all hospitals to have PACS in place by March 2007.

Mick Pilling writes; Shambles is not the word for the Failing NHS.....Everything seems to be in CRISIS!!!

SHAMBLES OF THE MISSING X-RAYS???
Hospital patients are having to undergo second X-rays and scans because of vital records going missing. Hospital managers have admitted doctors have been unable to find a fifth of records when patients come for appointments. The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary, Castle Hill and the Princess Royal hospitals, carries out about 300,000 X-rays and scans a year. But about 60,000 of those are lost or delayed when being moved around sites. Today, managers blamed the trust's outdated system for recording and transferring scans and said they hoped to be given funding for a new hi-tech system. But patients today said the chaotic system was unacceptable, particularly when they were awaiting results from scans. Last November, Hull clubland star Johnny Pat had to wait an extra five days to find out whether chemotherapy had eradicated his bowel cancer because his MRI scan had gone missing. Eventually, his consultant searched the hospital himself to find the scan. Mr Pat, lead singer of The Aces, said: "You go through the diagnosis and feel absolutely rotten with the chemotherapy and then have the MRI scan to see if it's worked. "The easy bit should be taking the photo and transporting it across the hospital. It's not rocket science. "I had built myself up to find out if it was a yes or no, but then I had to wait another five days looking at my body and wondering what was in there." Mr Pat, of east Hull, eventually got a call to say the treatment had been successful on December 2, his 64th birthday. He said: "The way they transport scans has to be improved. It's sad because the rest of the treatment I received was fantastic." Currently porters transport the scans by hand, but often do not get them to doctors in time for patients' appointments. Some scans simply go missing and are not found. Up to 90 per cent of hospital patients require scans, including X-rays, ultrasound and MRI scans, to diagnose and assess conditions, some of them life-threatening, such as cancer. Today, Dr Ged Avery, clinical director of radiology, said he was unable to say exactly how many records had been lost, and how many patients were affected. However, he admitted the problems often delayed diagnoses and treatment. Dr Avery said: "The system leads to delays and people cannot always be married up with their scan. "We can't progress with an appointment when the X-ray isn't there. The current system is unreliable. There's too much room for human error. "It's frustrating for us, and for patients, when the system fails." The trust is now seeking approval from the Strategic Health Authority to buy a £4m Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) to store every scan electronically. The trust, which is predicting a deficit of £12.6m by April, estimates the system would save £11m over the next nine years in staffing and chemicals costs. Ruth Marsden, chairman of the Public and Patient Involvement Forum for the trust, said: "Currently, it's very difficult to make sure X-rays are in the right place at the right time and this is why we desperately need the new system." Mrs Marsden has sat on a patient group overseeing the clinical imaging department for six years and says delays with scans had been a problem for at least that long. Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart said: "It's one of the scandals of the NHS that so many operations and appointments are avoidably cancelled. If the trust moves quickly to rectify what is clearly an unacceptable situation, it will have my full support." The Government has introduced a target for all hospitals to have PACS in place by March 2007. Mick Pilling writes; Shambles is not the word for the Failing NHS.....Everything seems to be in CRISIS!!!

	back