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More patients have been caught up in a medical imaging bungle at Caboolture Hospital's outpatient service in which scans went unchecked. The number of people requiring follow-up after the review has risen to 21, revised up from four since October 13. Metro North Health has been reviewing the imaging results of 12,529 patients at the hospital's specialist outpatient department for the past four weeks. The review was prompted by the case of a patient who went to the emergency department in September, unaware they had advanced cancer. The cancer had been detected in medical scans that were ordered but were not checked by doctors. The patient has since died. The problem stemmed from a change to internal processes in April 2023 that meant paper copies of medical imaging reports may not have been given to clinicians, and the hospital could not be certain that electronic reports had been reviewed either. The imaging involved included X-rays, CT scans, MRI and ultrasound studies for surgical, respiratory, cardiac, and paediatric patients. Initially, Metro North Health believed the problem affected 9,000 patients between April 2023 and September 2025, but later revised the number of patients to 12,529. When announcing the review on September 30, the hospital and health service initially committed to completing the review within two weeks, but it has now been a month. At the time, Metro North Health chief medical officer Elizabeth Rushbrook said only patients whose scans had warranted follow-up care but had not received it would be contacted as part of the investigation. Health Minister Tim Nicholls gave an update in state parliament today on the progress of the review. He said 98 per cent of the patients' scans were now checked, equating to 12,156 patients. "Patients are being contacted directly if they require follow-up from this review and to date, 21 patients have been contacted," Mr Nicholls said. The health minister did not say whether the patients' conditions had worsened, or gone undiagnosed or untreated, as a result of not receiving follow-up care after their scans. "The processes within Caboolture Hospital's specialist outpatient department have also been revised and strengthened to ensure medical imaging results are managed as they should be," he said. A Metro North Health spokesperson said privacy laws prevented the health service from providing any specific details about the condition of the 21 patients impacted. "We will provide more detail when the review process is concluded," the spokesperson said. Patients of the outpatient department who are concerned their medical imaging results have been impacted can contact the hospital on 07 5316 5163.
