The Trust says waiting times have improved since last year

The delay for scans, which use a strong magnetic field to allow doctors to see internal organs and tissues, is a problem in the north of the county.

North Cumbria Acute Hospitals Trust said the situation was not as bad as other areas and efforts are being made to improve waiting times.

It said a shortage of radiologists was adding to the problem.

Trust consultant radiologist Dr Peter Jennings said: "Eight months is the longest wait we have and a lot of patients are scanned a lot quicker than that.

"For example patients with newly diagnosed cancers who need to be assessed before treatment - we usually do it one to two weeks.

Mobile scanner

"And patients with suspected pressure on the spinal cord we would deal with in one to two days. So really the eight month wait is the very worst, most patients get scanned a lot more quickly than that."

He said the wait was still longer than they would like but the situation had improved since a year ago.

They have put on extra lists at the Cumberland Infirmary and extra visits to the mobile scanner at West Cumberland.

Mr Jennings said: "There is a shortage of radiologists globally. We have been trying for a year now to recruit more radiologists here with only limited success.

"The trust has been successful in recruiting other specialists - we have had a new neurologist, two surgeons and new anaesthetists - but just in radiology we are struggling at the moment."

He said there were a number of factors behind the shortage including the scope of the work of radiologists expanding and the work being more complex now and more time-consuming.