Barnsley Hospital meets Diagnostic Targets and gains Foundation Status

Barnsley Hospital NHS Trust, a district general hospital in South Yorkshire, provides acute services to a population of 225,000. In 2005, the hospital faced surmounting pressure to reduce waiting times and to meet diagnostic targets. This proved to be quite challenging as the hospital experienced a shortage of consultant radiologists to read the rising volume of images. The hospital was therefore left with a backlog of unread images and patient waiting times continued to increase. In addition, Barnsley Hospital’s exisiting radiologists were overworked and stressed, which was cause for concern in terms of working conditions as well as diagnostic accuracy.

As part of its drive to meet national diagnostic targets and to achieve foundation status, Barnsley Hospital commissioned TMC to read bulk examinations amounting to a minimum of 12,000 X-rays and 1300 MRI scans per year. The images were sent via a secure network to TMC’s team of qualified radiologists who returned diagnosis in a timely manner.

TMC exercised a partnership approach, working closely with Barnsley Hospital’s medical imaging department to help identify underlying issues that led to long waiting lists. Together, we developed appropriate solutions for increased productivity, exploiting the hospital’s existing cutting-edge technology. A continuing working partnership has resulted in Barnsley Hospital achieving foundation status; and receiving a rating of “excellent” for early diagnosis and superior patient care from the Healthcare Commission.

“We were very grateful for all the support we received from TMC whilst our department was being reorganised and re-developed. This was potentially a very difficult time for us, however, by working in partnership with TMC, we were able to offer a high quality radiology service within the target set by the NHS.”

Stewart Yates, Clinical Director, Barnsley Hospital