Equipment downtime in the radiology departments of three teaching hospitals in Ghana.

INTRODUCTION: Radiology equipment requires routine maintenance to prevent equipment breakdown. Equipment breakdown can lead to adverse patient outcomes and lost revenue to hospitals. In Ghana, there is a mismatch between the available radiology equipment and requests which may result in frequent breakdown. Several studies have been conducted to investigate equipment downtime across radiology departments. However, there is none for Ghana. This study therefore investigated the downtimes of radiology equipment across three hospitals in Ghana. METHOD: The study covered the period January-December 2020. An inventory sheet was used to collect data on equipment specifications, frequency of breakdown, downtimes, average daily patient throughput, the average cost of common examinations, the availability of post-installation training and maintenance contracts/agreements. RESULTS: The study reviewed 32 items of radiology equipment. Radiology equipment across the hospitals broke down frequently and downtimes were very high. Radiographers/radiologists across the hospitals were provided with poor/inadequate post-installation training, and maintenance contracts/agreements were unavailable. The radiology equipment downtimes resulted in significant lost revenue of GH₵ 16,279,803 (US$ 1,968,537). CONCLUSION: Radiology equipment across the hospitals broke down frequently and downtimes were lengthy leading to significant lost revenue for the hospitals. Post-installation trainings were poor/inadequate, spanning a few hours. Also, maintenance contracts/agreements were non-existent across the three hospitals. A nationwide study is needed to determine equipment downtimes and lost revenue across all radiology departments in Ghanaian hospitals, to better inform policy-making. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study may help hospital managers and other stakeholders involved in policy formulation and strategic planning, put measures in place to minimise radiology equipment breakdown in Ghana. The study may also help optimise radiology services and enable radiology departments to render uninterrupted clinical services to patients in Ghana.