The National Clinical Programme of Radiology has recommended the training of approximately 30 additional interventional radiologists to deliver 24/7 access to treatment for patients in Ireland.
The group made its recommendation in its ‘Model of Care for Interventional Radiology’ report at the opening of the RCSI Faculty of Radiologists’ Annual Scientific Meeting in Dublin today.
“Healthcare systems around the world are recognising the role of interventional radiology in the delivery of organ and life-saving treatment for patients,” said Professor Colin Cantwell, Consultant Radiologist, St Vincent’s University Hospital.
He added that 24/7 access to interventional radiology “can make a big difference to patient outcomes, particularly in trauma, cancer, obstetrics and urology”.
“Ireland needs at least an additional 150 radiologists over the next decade, including approximately 30 interventional radiologists to provide this service and bring us in line with the European average of 8 consultant radiologists per 100,000 population.
“This report sets out a path to this goal and ultimately to the improvement of patient care and outcomes in Ireland.”
Also speaking on the launch of the report Professor Michael Lee, Department of Radiology at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences and Consultant Radiologist said interventional radiology “procedures are vital in the provision of life-saving care for a wide and growing range of conditions”.
“They offer an alternative to more invasive surgery that results in shorter recovery times for patients and saves organs and lives.
“However, patients need 24/7 access to this service and we need more trained interventional radiologists to deliver emergency access for patients. The Model of Care report puts a framework in place to train qualified interventional radiologists in order to increase access to this life-saving treatment for clinicians and patients across the country.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.