Northern Trust announces a ‘lookback review’ into 13,000+ radiology images

The Northern Health and Social Care Trust announced this morning a review of more than 13,000 radiology images which took place between July 2019 and February 2020. This comes amid concerns about a locum radiology consultant within the Northern Trust.

The Northern Trust announced that 9091 patients will be contacted over the next couple of days and approximately 7% of patients may be facing a delayed diagnosis due to the unsatisfactory reporting of the radiology images. This comes as a shock and concern as it is now the third Trust in Northern Ireland commencing an investigation into their own staff, with the Belfast and Southern Trust announcing a public inquiry a little over a year ago.

Following complaints from the GMC, the Medical Director of the Northern Trust requested a sample of 30 CT scans from the locum radiologist. Following this sample, a decision was made to undergo a full review of all radiology reports issued by the locum radiologist.

The Northern Trust announced the affected hospitals are;

• Antrim Area Hospital

• Causeway Hospital

• Whiteabbey Hospital

• Mid Ulster Hospital

• Ballymena Health and Care Centre

The Trust have written to the affected patients and the recall process will start this week and is due to end in October 2021.

This is understandably a worrying time for patients across Northern Ireland, especially where delay in diagnosis is concerned. If you, or your family have been affected by the recall, please contact our clinical negligence team at PA Duffy & Company Solicitors.