Sudden, radical cut to x-ray services will ultimately cost Kamloops

“Outpatient x-rays are a source of much-needed revenue for the hospital. And they want to give them away to the for-profit clinics? That’s wrong.”

Vancouver (7 April 2011) - On April 1, the Royal Inland Hospital announced a radical cut in outpatient x-ray services without any community consultation. 

The hospital’s x-ray technologists are raising the alarm that Royal Inland Hospital is putting patient services at risk.

“Royal Inland announced that starting April 10, patients should no longer go to the hospital for routine outpatient x-rays,” said Reid Johnson, President of the Health Sciences Association of British Columbia (HSABC/NUPGE).

“Outpatient x-rays are a source of much-needed revenue for the hospital. And they want to give them away to the for-profit clinics? That’s wrong.”

Johnson said this move will also destabilize the x-ray staffing for the hospital. “X-ray technologists are highly-trained and in great demand. Cutting 150 scans a week will affect staffing at the hospital and make it even more difficult to recruit x-ray technologists to Kamloops.”

The region already has a serious recruitment problem with other medical imaging technologists, Johnson added. “This will continue to add to Royal Inland’s problems which, ultimately, may result in compromised care for the people of Kamloops.”

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE