Why are Irish children waiting more than two years for MRI scans?

Children who need MRI scans are waiting up to 27 months for an appointment at Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin. The waiting list is growing weekly as the radiology department struggles to see 42 patients from up to 72 new requests for scans received every week. Department Director Dr Angela Byrne has written to the medical board to highlight the "resource challenges" in administering general anaesthetic, which is required by children under seven for an MRI. Dr Byrne described the anaesthetic service as "already stretched". The MRI scanner at Crumlin is currently used for 35 hours per week. According to a report by The Irish Times, staff at the hospital are also concerned about the lack of an out-of-hours MRI service for emergencies.