Isle of Man residents wait twice as long for routine MRI scans as patients in the UK.

Health Minister Howard Quayle says action is being taken to reduce the backlog. Currently, people have to wait for 12 weeks for a scan, compared to six weeks in the UK.

Replying to a question in the House of Keys from Onchan member Zach Hall, Mr Quayle said it was would not be feasible to use the MRI scanner at weekends but that the working day would be extended to 8pm, using a bank radiographer.

He said: 'Two staff are required to maintain a safe scanning environment at all times. The current complement of staff does not allow the scanner to be operated out of normal working hours- 9-5pm Monday to Friday.

'To enable the MRI scanner to operate at weekends we would need additional staff which of course would require additional funding.

'As an interim solution, the department plans to utilise a bank radiographer to extend the working day Monday to Friday until 8pm. This should clear the local backlog of patients waiting for a routine MRI in approximately 10 weeks - a total of 308 scans. It should also bring the waiting time to below the UK national average which is currently 6 weeks. Our current waiting time for a routine MRI is 12 weeks.'

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