Government response on Sutherland Hospital MRI situation 'not good enough'

Sandra Hudson and Marilyn Urch say the government response is "not good enough" and the Health Department must urgently increase the number of scans carried out for Sutherland Hospital patients at St George Hospital.

They say the present limit of 15 scans a week, which has been in place for at least 10 years, is totally inadequate and compares with an average of 65 a week per MRI in other public hospitals.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard and the district health service have rejected the request for more scan time slots at St George Hospital.

A spokeswoman for South Eastern Sydney Local Health District said, when there was insufficient capacity at St George Hospital, "an arrangement is in place with several local private radiology providers".

"This ensures all urgent cases are seen in a timely manner," she said. "Inpatients who require an MRI are assessed on a case-by-case basis with patients prioritised for screening according to individual need and their clinical condition.

"Patient safety is an absolute priority and patients are prioritised to access MRI within the appropriate timeframe. Every patient with urgent needs will be provided with timely access to an MRI."

MS Urch and Ms Hudson said the management and staff of Sutherland Hospital did "a fantastic job", but it was the only B1 graded hospital without an MRI, which provides highly detailed images of the brain, blood vessels, soft tissue, ligaments and organs.

"In 2019, Sutherland Hospital had 58,868 people present at Emergency, more than at A1 grade hospitals, St Vincent's (51,382), Bankstown (58,092) and Concord (43,565)."

The campaign leaders refuted statements made by the district health service.

They said it was impossible for all "urgent cases to be seen in a timely manner" when only 15 MRI slots were available weekly.

There was always "insufficient capacity" for Sutherland Hospital requirements, they said.

The campaign leaders said, to their knowledge, only one private radiology practice, IMED at Hurstville, was used and, as it could not be accessed by ambulance, patients were taken by taxi, compromising their safety.

Ms Hudson said she had seen what it meant to assess patients on a case by case basis when she waited five days in Sutherland Hospital for an MRI and saw how difficult it was for staff to choose three patients a day for scans.