AQW 26365/22-27

Mr Danny Donnelly
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 30/04/2025
Answered On Date: 16/05/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health (i) for his assessment of the Northern Ireland Audit Office March 2025 report entitled Health and Social Care Imaging Services; (ii) to detail any steps he will take to address the growing gap between demand and capacity for imaging services; and (iii) to detail any financial support he will make available to support the longer-term sustainability of imaging services.

Answer:

I welcome this report, on which my Department has worked closely with the Northern Ireland Audit Office to advise on issues relating to demand and capacity, workforce challenges and the equipment base required for the safe and effective delivery of vital imaging services. The report highlights the work that imaging services have done to optimise productivity, skill mix, quality improvement, extended working and forward planning, and the work that is still needed. It also recognises the significant gaps in funding for annual increases in imaging demand and the subsequent impact this has on service delivery and waiting times for patients.

In my statement to the Assembly on 6 May 2025, I detailed how the £215m ringfenced allocation for health in this year’s budget will be invested in waiting list activities. The package of measures to be taken forward includes expanding core capacity in areas such as imaging, where the initial focus will be on increasing utilisation of scanning sessions in core hours, moving to evening and weekend working.

In the longer term, the Regional Medical Imaging Board is currently overseeing development of a business case for a multi-professional Northern Ireland Imaging Academy which aims to significantly increase the supply of locally trained consultant radiologists and advanced radiographer practitioners to address the increasing demand for imaging investigations and reduce reliance on costly outsourcing. While this is a priority area for my Department, progress remains subject to business case approval and the identification of additional recurrent funding.