Scottish health officials scrambling, spending to head off severe radiologist shortfall
A perfect storm of increased demand, flat med-school enrollment, unfilled positions and ready-to-burst retirement numbers has put the nation of Scotland at risk of a radiology crisis.
“Scottish radiology is on the brink of collapse, and if that happens there will be no medical diagnoses or surgical operations at all, since none can occur without radiologists interpreting the scans and x-rays,” Grant Baxter, MD, of the Royal College of Radiologists, tells the Glasgow-based Herald newspaper.
The country’s health secretary, Shona Robison, says the National Health Service (NHS) is doing all it can to head off such a dire scenario.
“Under this government, the number of consultant clinical radiologists working in Scotland’s NHS has increased by 46 percent and the number of radiography staff has risen by over 24 percent,” Robison says.
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Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.