Radiology Management Solutions (RMS) has helped NHS Trusts across the north complete an additional 64,000 CT and MR scans in the last year.
RMS helps NHS Trusts save money and increase efficiency through better utilisation of in-house radiology resources. Their bespoke 7-day medical imaging service reduces waiting lists and bed blocking, enabling a robust emergency scanning service to help Trusts minimise waiting lists and speed up patient pathways to recovery or treatment. In the last year RMS has helped an additional 36,000 MR and 28,000 CT patients to be scanned and on their way to diagnosis and treatment.
Clinical Director Bill Bailey commented “We started RMS with the purpose of helping to reduce patient waiting lists for diagnostic imaging. Patients typically need to be scanned before they can be properly assessed, diagnosed and treated and we were seeing an increasing reliance on mobile and modular units on site, which are very expensive for NHS Trusts to run. Our unique solution means that existing NHS radiology assets are being maximized, patients can be scanned in their own hospital and waiting lists are reduced.”
NHS Trusts across the UK are suffering from a widespread lack of qualified radiographers. The BBC issued a report last year that claimed one in 11 diagnostic radiography posts were vacant, with over one million patients waiting for tests, such as MRI and CT scans, ultrasounds and endoscopies across the UK. The number of patients waiting longer than six weeks in England had risen by 9,000 to nearly 29,000 in the past year. One in seven has waited more than three months. RMS has over 150 highly qualified radiographers working at sites in the North and in Wales to help address this shortage and to reduce waiting times for diagnostic imaging.
RMS calculate that the combined savings to NHS Trusts using their services last year was over £1.7 million (when compared to using mobile scanning units on site). To enable Trusts to quickly access radiology services, RMS has collaborated with the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to develop a Framework agreement for the provision of radiology services. This means that NHS Trusts, and other public bodies, can quickly and efficiently implement an outsourced scanning solution, irrespective of internal NHS staffing issues.
