Women in Devon are having their health put at risk because they are having to wait more than a year for a medical scan, according to an ultrasound expert.

There is currently a waiting list of 58 weeks for non-urgent ultrasound scans at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

The hospital's clinical director of obstetrics and gynaecology is telling staff the wait is "unacceptable" and not to request scans unless essential.

But the British Medical Ultrasound Society has said the delay might make treatment less effective and also mean other conditions or illnesses are missed.

There is a shortage of ultrasound staff

Derriford's gynaecology clinical director, Jonathan Rappell, said the situation has been caused by budget problems.

In a memo he said: "The current position is clearly unsustainable.

"I appreciate this is not ideal clinical practice. However, the hospital is in a financial crisis."

City GPs say they are talking to doctors and managers at Derriford to try to improve the situation.

But they have said it is worrying for patients with unexplained symptoms.

Plymouth GP Dr Paul Hardy said: "Obviously, it's very distressing for the patients because they can't get the tests they need, and it makes it difficult for the doctors to get the treatment they need for the patients."

Health experts also say the long wait for a scan could be damaging.

Recruiting staff

Jane Bates of the British Medical Ultrasound Society said: "It gives the potential for disease, which was in the early stages, to progress.

"And we may lose a window of opportunity for more serious pathology, such as cancer, that we may find coincidentally on routine scans."

A spokesman for Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust said the proposals outlined in the memo have not yet been implemented and are due for discussion this week.

He said the hospital would be installing two more ultrasound machines this autumn.

The hospital is also developing initiatives to recruit and retain trained sonographers, of which there is a national shortage.