Radiology disruption as covid continues to hammer hospital

Thursday 24 March 2022

More than 80 radiology appointments had to be pushed back in the first half of this week as covid and staff sickness continues to hit hospital services.

In an email to senior health staff on Monday shared with Express by a concerned recipient, Consultant Radiologist Dr Salman Zaman described staffing levels as “precarious” within the department due to covid and illness and said that the situation was “unlikely to improve this week”.

He said there was only one radiographer available to cover the MR scanner and in CT "barely enough staff" to cover one scanner.

"Even secretarial cover has been completely compromised," he said, as he informed staff that any cases falling outside the "urgent" category "will not be imaged" as a result.

The Government confirmed to Express this morning that nearly a quarter of patients due to be seen between Monday and Wednesday were unable to be seen as a result.

"85 non-urgent requests have been postponed and are in the process of being rescheduled," they said.

They noted, however, that patients referred from the Emergency Department were able to be imaged.

"Health and Community Services apologise for any inconvenience caused," a spokesperson said.

Radiology isn't the only area facing pressure as a result of staff absences.

At the beginning of the year, several non-urgent surgeries also had to be postponed due to staff absences, while earlier this month, several wards in the hospital had to close to visitors as a result of high levels of covid, and Norovirus infections.

Across the health service, more than one in 10 of the 2,400-strong workforce are off – 271 are on leave, while 110 are absent due to sickness.

The Government confirmed to Express that 37 staff members have been diagnosed with covid, while 20 are off for mental health-related reasons.

There are currently 2,323 known active cases of covid in the community.

On 22 March, there were 107 confirmed cases recorded among school staff and students.

One in four secondary school students is currently off, while one in 10 primary school pupils are absent from school, according to Government statistics.

Some schools have this week shut certain year groups as a result of high levels of covid.

Meanwhile, Ports of Jersey has confirmed that it is still asking staff to wear face coverings to protect its workforce "due to the risk associated with staff illness or absence due to isolation."