Ardglass woman facing 12 week delay for routine scan

Ardglass woman facing 12 week delay for routine scan

25 July 2012 - by David Telford

ARDGLASS woman Ciara Gray-Shannon is wracked with pain.

But the 47 year-old, who suffers from scoliosis, has been told it will be the end of September before she can have an MRI scan to discover the cause of the pain.

An urgent scan was requested by her consultant at Belfast’s Musgrave Park Hospital at the end of June, but Ciara was informed on Monday that she faces another nine-week wait for the diagnostic test and that she is included in a list of people who require a “routine scan.”

The Ardglass woman fears she may have to wait even longer for her scan and has criticised hospital administrators for forcing patients to wait “unacceptable periods of time” to have such crucial tests carried out.

Ciara, who is currently experiencing acute pain in her lower back, said “her heart sank” when she was informed at the start of the week that she faces another two month wait for her scan.

“I have been ringing and ringing the hospital over the past few weeks trying to get a date for my scan because I am in so much pain. Now a month after the MRI was ordered I have been told that I will have to wait until the end of September. But what guarantee do I have that I will be seen then?” she asked.

Ciara said she has gone public with her concern as she fears she is not the only person who is being forced to wait months for a crucial diagnostic test.

“I am concerned both for myself and other people who are in a similar situation. As I wait for my scan, I remain in a lot of pain and discomfort and this is having a major impact on my health and results in sleepless nights.

“Hospital staff I speak with at the other end of the telephone are at the front line and they do an excellent job. I blame the delay I am experiencing on people who are a higher up the chain of command.”

Ciara said she wants her MRI scan carried out so her consultant can diagnose what’s wrong, treat her condition and “allow her to get on with her life.”

“My consultant thinks I may have a trapped nerve or so-called tethered rib. Part of my spine has worn away as a result of the scoliosis and my ribs are compacted. It was difficult to see what’s going on in the x-ray so the MRI was requested.

Ciara added: “It’s really unfair to leave people who are in acute pain to wait so long for a scan to help their clinician make a diagnosis.

A spokeswoman for the Belfast Trust said she cannot discuss individual cases. She said the current waiting time for a MRI scan is within the nine- week target set by the Department of Health.