A helpline opens this morning for patients worried about scans at University Hospital Kerry.

A review's being conducted of some 46,000 x-rays, cat scans and ultra sounds amid patient safety concerns at the hospital.

Scans of 26,000 people are involved with two or three scams per person in some cases.

The review covers scans between March 2016 to July of this year.

As of last Friday, 18,000 files have been reviewed and the South/South West Hospital Group (SSWHG) says "only a very small number of these" have resulted in a patient call back and were "purely precautionary".

Just 21 patients have been called back for "repeat imaging", and none of those required any further follow up or treatment.

The dedicated information line is available at 1800-742-900 from 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday.