MRI...but no staff to read it

[RhythmStick]

I will never understand, how some departments, in some hospitals, literally grind to a halt on a weekend because there's not the Dr's/consultant's etc.

MRI done, for a seriously unwell inpatient, but no staff to read it until at least tomorrow afternoon, or maybe Tuesday.

Awful. I had a non urgent MRI shortly before covid and a follow up appointment three months later. The report still hadn’t been done.

I’ve since had a few done privately and the radiologist is literally there doing analysing and reporting it before I’ve left.

the NHS needs very urgent intervention.

I hope the person involved is ok.

If you have a consultant radiologist to read them at weekends then they won’t be working everyday next week.
During the week more things are happening and they will be consulted more often and used more effectively.
If they are off in the week an MRI on Friday might not be read until Sunday.
Isn’t it just swings and roundabouts unless you had all services 7 days a week?

Ps They can always be read at weekend if it is super urgent eg will certainly die or serious permanent damage without MRI

I’m surprised. (Dr). It’s hard to get an MRI at the weekend, and they are usually only done when they are urgent ie the report will alter the immediate care plan. At my hospital urgent MRIs are reported within an hour every day of the week. Overnight we need to transfer patients to another hospital to get an MRI……but that’s another story.

I think all doctors including consultants should work on a rota system, the same as nursing staff do.

That way, there will always be someone available at the weekend to do things like read mri scans.

Every hospital I have worked in has doctors, Consultants and Radioloigists at weekends and MRI and acan results are read for seriously unwell inpatients.

I don't know the history, but are you sure that the scan is an emergency? i.e. the patient's acute management would change immediately, depending on the result?

I have never worked in a hospital where there isn't an acute 24/7 reporting service for urgent scans, even if that reporting service is not run by the hospital itself (disclaimer: I've obviously not worked in every hospital in the UK).

I have had scans undertaken for inpatients on a Friday, that have not been reported until the following week. Although this is very frustrating for the family and the patient, believe me, if it would have changed the patient's immediate management, it would have been reported sooner and chased by the medical team. I find that the key in these cases, is to ensure that the patient knows this.

If it was an urgent MRI to rule out something like Cauda Equiina, I'd expect it to be reported ASAP.

They do and there is. Maybe with the exception of very specialist groups with little out of hours work, like dermatology.

Radiology is definitely a 24/7 speciality.

Unless it's for something like cauda equina, it can probably wait. If it was truly urgent it would be reported.

What makes you think doctors don't work on a rota?

Do you not have an on call duty radiologist? We also use a company called 4ways that supply remote radiology reporting for weekend and out of hours. Most radiology departments don't grind to a halt at weekends, we are a 24/7 365 days a year service. There is always capacity to find someone to read or report the urgent X-rays, CT & MRI scans on our trust.

@CordeliaChasex Sorry I worded that really badly. I meant that their rota should include more weekends, not just the on call doctor.

I also think it should be the same for GP surgeries. People aren't just unwell mon-fri.

Jus because there is a rota doesn't mean that sometimes people won't be off sick or on holiday.

There should be cover for urgent reporting. It seems that hospital hasn't enough radiologists to cover the service ( not just week & weekdays but also for holidays, sickness, conferences etc).
Matildathecat - it's not that private service is wonderful vs bad NHS.
There has been a national shortage of radiologists for some years now. More are being trained up but the govt only funds a limited no of spaces & some of these move to purely private work once qualified as the pay is not limited to NHS rates. Some NHS trained Drs also do private work & all this reduces the pool available for NHS work.

Some private companies also have reputations for poor quality reporting, as there is lack of quality control & more autonomy in choosing who to employ; reporting can also be outsourced to non-UK locations which can be good or bad in quality terms. Basically it's easier for a private company to plug a radiologist gap than for a hospital bound by NHS rules, regs & pay. However a hospital should have an urgent reporting service so seems they're struggling if that's happened here.

Believe me, being a doctor in this country is unattractive enough without having to work even more weekends just in case someone gets ill. Some of my friends already work 1 in 2 weekends. Then there's nights and Bank Holidays.

We want to have lives too. Nobody needs a GP on a Sunday morning.

This is outing - but yes I know it's urgent.
It's a child, with cancer, suffering Headaches constantly for the last few weeks.
The first time it happened, the child almost died because of the pressure in their head. An urgent lumbar puncture was needed.

Childs been in hospital 5 days so far. Took almost 3 days before a doctor examined them.

That is awful, I'm sorry.

The question is whether the MRI is going to change management and whether a delay will delay something life or limb saving.

It may well be that waiting for a paediatric neuroradiologist to report the scan properly is preferable if there is no alternative treatment to offer.

Sounds like a very sad situation that has unfortunately been sad for some time.

Was the patient an in-patient/A&E or out-patient?
out-patient scanning can happen outside of standard working hours but won’t be reported immediately. In-patient scans are usually reported within an hour.

Personally I think it needs addressing ASAP, but I appreciate I'm emotionally involved.

If you had lesions growing on your skull, and you know they cause tremendous pressure to build, which will literally kill if it gets too great - and constant headaches are the only outward sign - then I'd be finding someone to look at said scans.

Sorry, accidentally scrolled past your update on the situation. Maybe the scan was done at the weekend because they couldn’t find a slot during the working week? Not great at all but a potential reason why it was done at the weekend but not reported.

i am confused were they admitted without being examined? They usually can’t be given a bed without a history, examination etc being documented.

@RhythmStick I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you.

Our trust is struggling to recruit consultant radiologists. It's not just a lack of funding but a lack of expertise nationally.

Oh why has no-one thought of that before?
Oh wait…a massive workforce crisis

Unfortunately in such an awful situation, there is unlikely to be a treatment beyond something like steroids. And this could be given according to symptoms if the lesions are already known. Not sure what an MRI would add to what's already known, other than prognosis.