The CT scan at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital was inoperative for several days this month, causing a four day backlog.

The failure forced at least one emergency patient to be flown off the Island by air ambulance while 20 other patients had to have their scans rescheduled.

Hospital authorities confirmed last week that the CT scan was down from August 12 until August 16, and said it is now fully operational.

Elaine Williams, manager of Diagnostic Imaging at the Bermuda Hospitals Board, said that a part had to be flown on to the Island and installed. ?As soon as the part was delivered, the GE (General Electric) technician repaired the scanner. Patients were scanned immediately and the back log was cleared up within four days, thanks to the committed team of KEMH technologists,? she said.

She added that patients were informed that the scanner was down and they would have to be rescheduled.

Adrian Dill, the son of Assistant Cabinet Secretary Kenneth Dill, was flown to the Lacey Clinic in Boston after being involved in a single vehicle accident on August 14.

Emergency services found Mr. Dill, 30, unconscious just after 11 p.m. and took him to King Edward where X-rays revealed a broken arm and fractured ribs.

Because the hospital?s CT scan machine was not working a decision was made to fly him to Boston.

Kenneth Dill accompanied his son to New England and reported last week by email that CT scans and an MRI had turned up negative results. After a successful operation on his arm he was transferred to the Healthsouth New England Rehabilitation Hospital where he has been undergoing speech therapy sessions and was expected to be back in Bermuda last weekend.

Ms Williams said that the scanner had previously broken down in January and had such problems about twice a year.

?That has been the history. When you consider that we are a remote island and we are working a CT scan equipment which is computerised, I think that is a reasonable expectation.?

The most recent delay could have been even longer were it not for the fact that there was already a GE technician on the Island.