Waiting lists balloon after suspension of private provider

The Care Quality Commission suspended the licence of Greater Manchester-based Mediscan Diagnostic Services last year, following major concerns over infection prevention and staff members being misrepresented as doctors. There were also allegations of bullying and sexual harassment by some staff.

Last month it issued the company with a further “inadequate” rating following an inspection in the autumn. Although the licence suspension expired in November, with some remaining conditions, the CQC said the provider has not restarted its services. HSJ has been unable to contact anyone at the company.

Based on activity stats immediately before its suspension, Mediscan was the second largest provider of non-obstetric ultrasounds for NHS commissioners in Greater Manchester, performing around 5,500 tests in April 2021, around 14 per cent of the total.

The suspension appears to have left thousands of patients waiting longer for these types of scan, with the backlog of patients already waiting more than six weeks for their scans growing from around 2,400 in April last year to around 6,800 at the start of December.

This represents a rise of 180 per cent compared to the England-wide rise of 30 per cent. The total waiting list had also increased by around 40 per cent, compared to 10 per cent nationally.

Ultrasounds are used to diagnose multiple conditions, including a number of types of cancer.

Local commissioners said they had “worked hard to ensure that there is alternative diagnostic provision”, and had already brought in new providers under a planned tender process, with the new contracts starting in October last year.

The new providers include Yorkshire Health Solutions, Physiological Measurements Ltd and Beacon Medical Services Group.

HSJ also asked how long it is expected to take to recover the waiting list backlogs which have grown over the last year, but did not receive a response to this.

Nationally, Mediscan delivered almost 10,000 non-obstetric ultrasounds in April last year, around 2 per cent of the total in England. This made it the single largest provider in the country.

Another area which relied on them heavily was Lincolnshire, where the company performed 18 per cent of scans last April. Lincolnshire’s backlog of patients already waiting over six weeks doubled to more than 1,000 over the same time period. Local commissioners were approached for comment.

According to its annual accounts, Mediscan grew significantly over the last five years, with net assets of £325,000 in 2016, rising to more than £1m in 2021.