The Grand Falls General Hospital is one of several hospitals in northwestern New Brunswick where 30,000 tests performed by a radiologist are being reviewed. (CBC)

The mayor of Grand Falls is challenging New Brunswick Health Minister Mary Schryer to explain why people in his town were not informed until this week about suspicions regarding the work of a local radiologist.

Marcel Deschenes said people in the northwestern New Brunswick town deserved to know a lot sooner about concerns with the work of Dr. Bhagwan Jain.

It was revealed Monday that 30,000 of Jain's tests from the past three years will be re-examined because problems or discrepancies were found with more than 80 during reviews.

"If there was something that went wrong two years ago elsewhere, why didn't they look at this matter more closely then, or within that span of two years?" Deschenes asked. Monday was "the first that I heard about this," he said.

Regional Health Authority B expects to finalize a list of affected patients within the next couple of weeks, said Dr. Édouard Hendriks, vice-president of medical affairs.

"So the physicians will get a list of their patients involved and the exams that will be eventually be reviewed," Hendriks said. "So they can either advise their patients or do whatever followup needs to be done at this time.

Physicians will get copies of the revised reports on the exams to compare with the originals, Hendriks said.

Patient Donna Toner, who has a tumor on her liver, has had several X-rays assessed by Dr. Bhagwan Jain. (CBC) Donna Toner, who has a tumor on her liver, got a call from her doctor's office on Tuesday to set up an appointment for another X-ray.

Toner said she wondered if she might be one of the initial 53 patients being called because of problems with Jain's assessments — Jain read all of her previous X-rays.

She was told she wasn't among those patients, but she's still not sure what to think about the questions now surrounding Jain's work.

'I guess I won't worry about it unless I get a call.'—Patient Donna Toner

"He's been a doctor in the region for 26 years and I've had good faith in him so far, so I guess I won't worry about it unless I get a call."

But it may be up to six months before patients find out if their tests have to be done, officials said. The government is still looking for an outside agency to review the tests.

Some area residents say it's unfair to make patients wait that long.

"At this point, we're asking people to be patient," said Dr. Michel Nowland, the lead physician for Grand Falls General Hospital.

"The process will go on … At that point, we'll be more in a position to assess whether we need to repeat test or do further testing."

Every doctor wants the review to be completed as soon as possible, he added.

Jain declines comment

CBC News went to Jain's home but the family declined an on-camera interview while they wait to speak to a lawyer.

However, Jain's wife said her husband retired in September and was well-respected in the community.

A patient first raised concerns about Jain's work in 2005, and in 2007 several doctors came forward with problems. Internal reviews at that time identified some issues, but the regional health authority did not see them as a threat to patients.

Jain had been suspended, then regained his ability to work in all but three problem areas.

All of this happened around the same time as a public inquiry into pathology results in Miramichi, which was critical of how the local regional health authority handled complaints against Dr. Rajgopal Menon.

Health Minister Mary Schryer said the Regional Health Authority handled the radiology review properly despite concerns raised by Grand Falls Mayor Marcel Deschenes. (CBC)

Schryer, who learned last week of the concerns about Jain's work, said the northern health authority handled the file properly.

"They followed a process," she said. "They have bylaws that they follow, and they watched it very closely.

"And they had performed mini-audits in between. So I'm satisfied that they followed the right procedure."

Review expected to take 6 months

Grand Falls is the largest community among several affected by the radiology review. Jain covered hospitals in the Grand Falls, Saint Quentin, Perth-Andover, Plaster Rock and Bath areas.

Jain had 332 of his exams reviewed and problems were found with 53 of them. Twenty-eight were considered major discrepancies.

The acceptable error rate in radiology is between three and five per cent, but the radiologist in question has an error rate of about 16 per cent.

Regional Health Authority A has ordered an external review of 30,000 exams, including ultrasounds, chest X-rays, fluoroscopies, venograms, Doppler ultrasounds and mammographies, which Jain completed in the last three years.

The Department of Health will find a radiology company to perform the review, which is expected to last six months.