Eurostat: Hospitals in Romania rank last in EU in terms of number of CT scanners available

Romania had the lowest number of CT scanners per 100,000 inhabitants (0.8), in 2018, followed by France (1.2), Poland, the Netherlands and Slovenia (1.4 each), according to data published by the European Statistical Office Eurostat on Friday.

In 2018, among the Member States, the availability in hospitals of computer tomography (CT) scanners relative to the number of inhabitants was the highest in Denmark (with 4.0 CT scanners per 100,000 inhabitants) and Cyprus (3.3), followed by Bulgaria (2.8) and Portugal (2.6).

Also, the smallest availability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units relative to the number of inhabitants was recorded in Latvia, Romania, Slovakia (each with 0.4 MRI units per 100,000 inhabitants), followed by Lithuania, Bulgaria and Poland (0.6 each), while the highest availability was recorded in Finland (with 2.7 MRI units per 100,000 inhabitants), Cyprus (2.1) and Italy (1.7).

Between 2013 and 2018 the availability of CT scanners relative to the number of inhabitants increased in most Member States. The highest increases were recorded in Portugal with an increase of 0.6 scanners per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Bulgaria (+0.5) and Slovenia (+0.3), while the highest decreases were registered in Luxembourg (-0.6 scanners 100,000 inhabitants) and Finland (-0.5).

During the same period, the most notable increases in the availability of MRI units were in Finland with an increase of 0.5 units per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Ireland (+0.4), Estonia and Portugal (+0.3 each), while decreases were recorded in Latvia and Luxembourg (-0.1 units per 100,000 inhabitants each).