Staffing issues have caused NHS Highland spending on private radiology services to soar by 95%.
Data obtained by Scottish Labour shows that over £46 million has been paid to private radiology firms by health boards across Scotland in the last five years.
Spending increased by 78% compared to pre-pandemic levels, climbing from £6.9 million in 2018-19 to more than £12.2 million in 2022-23.
NHS Highland spent £1.4 million outsourcing analysis and diagnosis of radiology tests such as X-rays and CT scans in 2022-23 – a 95% increase on 2018-19.
Meanwhile, NHS Grampian was the only health board in Scotland that saw it’s spending on private radiology services decrease.
It paid out £747,457 in 2022-23, down from over £1 million in the year prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
It comes after the the Royal College of Radiologists warned that all four UK nations were facing “chronic staff shortages” for important tests and treatments.
They say a lack of staff can lead to cancer patients facing “life-threatening” delays, with the situation predicted to worsen as the shortfall in skilled radiologists increases.
It comes after The Press and Journal reported in January how some patients in Grampian were waiting almost five years for key diagnostic tests.
Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie branded the figures a “scandal”, saying they exposed “disastrous” NHS workforce planning by the SNP government.
Scottish Labour: NHS ‘stretched to breaking point’
Ms Baillie added: “While our NHS is stretched to breaking point, eye-watering sums of money are being handed over to private companies to plug staffing gaps.
“This is the cost of 16 years of disastrous workforce planning and financial mismanagement under the SNP.”
The MSP said warnings from experts had been ignored, with the situation now reaching crisis point as waiting times increase.
She added: “Humza Yousaf and his health secretary Michael Matheson need to take urgent action to address the recruitment crisis in the NHS and end this scandal.”
