Thousands waiting more than 18 months for an MRI at UHL

ALMOST 3,000 people have been waiting more than a year and a half for an MRI at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

The Regional Health Forum West meeting heard that there are two MRI scanners in UHL - one owned by UL Hospitals Group and one owned by Alliance Medical.

CEO of UL Hospitals Group, Colette Cowan said: “We face considerable challenges in the provision of diagnostic scans, including MRI, in University Hospital Limerick as demand for radiology tests now exceeds available capacity.”

She said that priority is given to inpatients and oncology outpatients.

According to their figures, 2,995 people have been waiting more than 78 weeks for an MRI.

A total of 764 people have been waiting between a year and a year and a half for the scan.

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There is a wait of up to three weeks for 386 people and a wait of between three and six weeks for 263 people.

Planning permission was secured in October 2023 for an extension to the radiology department at UHL, to include space for another MRI scanner, and the enabling works have gone out to tender.

The project is expected to be completed by the first part of 2026.

In 2023, more than 19,000 radiology scans, including MRIs, were carried out in the HSE Mid-West under the GP access to community diagnostics scheme and this reduced referrals to the ED, acute medical units and outpatient departments.