{"id":533806,"date":"2026-03-11T18:05:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T18:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/533806\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T18:05:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T18:05:35","slug":"australian-hospitals-sending-medical-scans-overseas-amid-critical-staff-shortages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/533806\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian hospitals sending medical scans overseas amid critical staff shortages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Questions are being raised about who is reading patient medical scans in Australian<\/a> hospitals, as radiology departments face critical staff shortages and rising demand.<\/p>\n

A 7NEWS investigation has revealed some hospitals are sending scans overseas for reports, often to the UK<\/a> where radiologists are working during the day while Australians sleep.<\/p>\n

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Hospitals sending medical scans overseas amid staff shortage<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

When a CT scan is done late at night, the images don\u2019t always stay in Australia. Because of workforce shortages and after-hours demand, medical imaging is being outsourced to meet patient needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur preferred option for all radiology reporting is to have locally trained and locally sourced radiologists reporting for that. That is the gold standard,\u201d Barry Soans of the Royal Australian and New Zealand<\/a> College of Radiologists said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a global workforce shortage of radiologists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across the country, health departments have confirmed outsourcing diagnostics is common practice.<\/p>\n

Queensland<\/a> says it doesn\u2019t allow offshore reporting but will send scans to other states. Others say private providers supplement public capacity, including Western Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

South Australia<\/a> uses a company that has doctors in the UK, Ireland<\/a> and South Africa<\/a>. NSW<\/a> does too, and claims recruiting local doctors is a challenge.<\/p>\n

Health authorities say the expectation is that all outsourced reports are completed by radiologists who are registered locally and are reporting to Australian healthcare and safety and quality standards.<\/p>\n

However, patient advocates say safety must come first.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a scan is misreported then absolutely that can have diabolical outcomes for a patient and we absolutely should not have a system that allows that to happen and ensuring that the patient\u2019s safety and protection of the patient\u2019s privacy is utmost,\u201d patient advocate Deidre Mackechnie said.<\/p>\n

There are now calls for more government-funded training to address the critical staff shortage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it means that we need to invest in building the workforce, then that\u2019s what needs to happen,\u201d Mackechnie said.<\/p>\n

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