There were 8750 people on the waitlist for scans or x-rays in the Bay of Plenty region as of March 1. Photo / 123rf
There were 8750 people on the waitlist for scans or x-rays in the Bay of Plenty region as of March 1. Photo / 123rf
Almost 9000 people are waiting for scans and X-rays in the Bay of Plenty region, Health New Zealand data shows.
Additionally, more than $11 million was spent on outsourcing medical imaging scans to private providers in the region in 11 months.
Health NZ data provided to Apex – the unionrepresenting medical imaging technologists and sonographers – under the Official Information Act showed 8750 people were on the waitlist for scans or X-rays as of March 1 in the Bay of Plenty.
This included 3080 people waiting for ultrasound scans, 2474 for CT scans, 2277 for X-rays, 905 for MRI scans, and 14 for PET scans.
The $11,390,156 outsourcing spend ran from March 1 last year to January 31.
Health NZ said the data was provisional, and it could not guarantee the information was error-free due to differences in reporting systems used across Health NZ.
Apex released a report this month exposing “the critical state” of public radiology services in New Zealand.
Based on a national survey of its members and official information, Apex found more than $100m was spent in one year outsourcing radiology services to private providers.
It also found 102,446 patients were on radiology waitlists nationwide, and 44% of medical imaging technologists were working with “broken, outdated, or unsafe” equipment.
More than half of all departments reported inadequate staffing of medical imaging technologists. The Bay of Plenty was one of five departments nationally that reported staffing approaching “crisis levels”.
Outsourcing creates ‘dangerous feedback loop’
Apex national secretary Dr Deborah Powell said radiology was a “central pillar” of the public health and hospital system.
“Medical imaging allows doctors to see with pinpoint accuracy how disease and trauma affect the human body.”
Powell said the report showed how public radiology services were being “crushed”.
“Understaffed and exhausted teams working with broken equipment are finding it impossible to provide safe and timely services as demand for medical imaging surges.”
Apex national secretary Dr Deborah Powell. Photo / Supplied
Powell said its analysis showed a “dangerous feedback loop” where the outsourcing spend was “starving public services of investment in workforce and technology”.
“Judicious use of outsourcing can be used to supplement public sector capacity. However, an overreliance on expensive private outsourcing is not cost-effective or sustainable long-term.”
Powell said the report contained a plan to “rescue” publicly delivered radiology and it had invited Health NZ to discuss it.
The plan included “lifting the hiring freeze” for medical imaging technologists, investing in equipment and workforce, and redirecting outsourcing money towards expanded hospital radiology services.
Health NZ Bay of Plenty operations group director Pauline McGrath said it recognised access to timely and effective radiology services was critical to providing high-quality care, reducing waiting times for treatment and improving outcomes for patients wherever they lived.
McGrath said outsourcing appointments to private partners was one way Health NZ could ensure radiology patients living in districts such as Bay of Plenty and Lakes received timely diagnostic procedures.
“This approach isn’t new, nor is it a stop-gap measure.”
McGrath said Health NZ acknowledged challenges in recruiting radiology vacancies, but this was not unique to the Bay of Plenty or New Zealand given global workforce shortages.
She said rapid developments in technology meant more could be done for patients.
McGrath said Health NZ remained committed to growing its workforce of specialist imaging technologists and radiographers, “and we are making progress”.
Nationally, from September 2024 to March 2025, the vacancy rate across radiology services nationally fell by 50 FTE [fulltime equivalent].
There were no delays in the recruitment process, she said.
McGrath said its radiology national clinical network had this year established a medical imaging technologists workforce group to discuss workforce issues and “identify initiatives to better support the workforce and help us to work smarter”.
“Long term we have a plan to address workforce shortages, which includes growing training pathways for specialist imaging technologists and radiographers.”
McGrath said the annual $30m investment from the Government in the community-referred radiology service would ensure greater access to diagnostic radiology for primary care.
Health NZ was working with the sector to support services and ensure they were sustainable.
