All potentially life-saving scans at a Glasgow hospital were cancelled because staff had not completed a legally required check.
MRI and CT scan staff at Glasgow Royal Infirmary were unable to complete their duties this month, leading to the cancellation of all vital scans.
This was due to the staff, who, it is understood, work for a private company, not having Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks in place.
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The PVG scheme is a Scottish membership and disclosure system, run by Disclosure Scotland, designed to prevent people known to be unsuitable from undertaking “regulated roles” with children or protected adults, whether paid or voluntary.
A source told the Glasgow Times: "All MRI and CT scans were cancelled at the Royal as the private company NHS has paid to provide the service, for four years, has disclosed that none of their staff have had a PVG check."
The staff did have the equivalent English disclosure in place, but had not undergone the vital checks in Scotland, which were then rushed through after government intervention and scans resumed yesterday, January 20.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As soon as the Scottish Government was made aware of an issue, Disclosure Scotland was instructed to prioritise the applications concerned and the issue was resolved quickly with all scanning services fully resuming on Tuesday, 20 January.
“Although not cleared by Disclosure Scotland, staff working on the mobile MRI scanners did have the English equivalent disclosure check in place.”
MRI and CT scans enable rapid diagnosis of serious conditions such as cancer, heart disease, major trauma, stroke, internal bleeding, aortic dissection or pulmonary embolisms.
MRI scans use a powerful magnet and pulses of radio waves, and CT scans use a rotating X‑ray source and detectors around the body, to provide detailed pictures of inside the body.
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Membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme is a legal requirement in Scotland.
Any individual who is to carry out a regulated role (paid or voluntary) with children, protected adults or both must be a member of the PVG scheme prior to carrying out that role.
A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "Due to a national supplier issue, some imaging appointments were postponed, and we apologise to anyone affected.
"This issue has now been resolved, and anyone whose appointment was postponed will be contacted as soon as possible to arrange a new date."
It comes after the Glasgow Times revealed that a new cleaning routine in Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital will mean some rooms' toilets won't be cleaned between patients.
The new procedure, introduced by hospital bosses last week, has been put in place alongside other changes that will see nursing staff take on more hygiene duties.
Hospital staff have called out the changes and claimed that the health board have "got this really wrong."
The health board insisted that the cleaning regime has been agreed with senior nursing leaders and our infection control teams and that they will work to "ensure the highest standards of cleanliness across our hospitals."
If you have been affected by the cancelled scans or have a story about hospitals in Glasgow, please get in touch with me at donald.erskine@newsquest.co.uk
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