However, Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (HNZ) said the hospital would continue to provide scans, and was helping to ease pressure on Dunedin’s short-staffed radiology department.
Southland Hospital’s new status was recently revealed in a table showing the results of radiology department reviews carried out throughout the country by International Accreditation of New Zealand (IANZ).
Dunedin Hospital was labelled high risk, the review table warning of a 40% shortage in radiologists and "ongoing resource depletion".
HNZ Southern group director of operations Hamish Brown said Southland Hospital’s IANZ accreditation was suspended in December 2014, but it continued to perform scans safely.
"Patients are continuing to receive scans, including MRI, CT, ultrasound, plain X-ray and nuclear medicine scans, as they have always done."
The Otago Daily Times asked what concerns had caused IANZ to withdraw accreditation, but HNZ did not cite any.
Mr Brown said the organisation advised HNZ it was its policy to withdraw accreditation after 12 months’ suspension.
"They explained that they had not done so for Southland Hospital and were now acting to be compliant with their own policy."
IANZ had previously expressed concerns about the numbers of radiologists and medical imaging technologists at Southland Hospital, he said.
The withdrawal came into effect on August 17, while the hospital was working on an application to maintain the suspended status.
It was continuing to work with IANZ.
Mr Brown said Dunedin Hospital’s yearly radiology department accreditation audit was carried out in June, and it had not been suspended despite the concerns raised.
Dunedin’s staff shortages were causing increased waits for some procedures, such as image-guided injections and biopsies.
