Dr Marc Berna / © Annick Goerens
Medical imaging bottlenecks, difficulty accessing specialists, and nurse burnout were key topics discussed on Tuesday morning during an RTL Radio interview with Dr Marc Berna, General Director of the Robert Schuman Hospitals (HRS) foundation.
Dr Berna expressed frustration that fully equipped radiology facilities – including MRI, CT scanners, and X-ray machines – have been ready for months at Cloche d’Or, yet remain unused due to ongoing negotiations with the National Health Fund (CNS). He described the process of reaching flat-rate agreements as difficult and prolonged, already stretching over two years.
On average, patients in Luxembourg currently wait 20 to 40 days for an MRI appointment. This is due in part to a growing and ageing population, which is increasing demand, while imaging capacity is only slowly expanding. To help meet this need, the Robert Schuman Hospitals (HRS) foundation has built an entire new imaging centre and plans to add a mammography unit soon.
Dr Berna emphasised that the foundation’s goal is to improve the system, not to make profit – which, as a foundation, it isn’t even permitted to do.
He acknowledged that a centralised national imaging system would be ideal, but pointed out that Luxembourg’s digital health infrastructure is still lagging behind. Implementing such a system would also be technically complex: HRS alone carries out around 180,000 imaging procedures per year. For now, patients must call individual hospitals to find out which one has the shortest waiting time for X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs.
Specialist appointments harder to get
Many patients have recently complained about the difficulty of getting appointments with specialists. Dr Berna noted that this is partly due to a shortage of specialists and also because coordination between GPs and specialists is often lacking.
He argued that Luxembourg needs a stronger healthcare ecosystem to attract needed specialists, and that this challenge isn’t primarily about pay. Rather, the issue is that younger generations are increasingly reluctant to enter self-employment, which has traditionally been the model for many medical professionals.
Addressing this may require creating a more secure professional framework, not only within hospitals but also in outpatient settings.
Breaking the burnout spiral in nursing
Dr Berna also spoke about the worsening work conditions for nursing staff, saying that HRS has measurable data confirming the growing strain.
The number of overtime hours and increased absenteeism clearly reflect the rising workload. More nurses are calling in sick, which increases pressure on those who remain, and this reinforces a negative cycle that harms the sector’s image.
To reverse this, he said, the nursing profession must be made more attractive. One key step is to relieve nurses of administrative tasks so they can spend more time with patients.
To test this, HRS is launching a pilot project focused on boosting what they call "Patient Face Time" – the direct interaction nurses have with patients.
Over 18 months, the hospital will assign 20 full-time staff members to support various departments, taking on over 40 administrative and logistical tasks. This is expected to free up 136 hours of nursing time each week. The hospital will then assess the impact on staff wellbeing, patient care quality, and financial viability.
Dr Berna said they expect that by improving working conditions, patient outcomes will also improve, leading to fewer falls, fewer pressure ulcers, and overall better care.
