WINGHAM – A MRI machine is expected to be up and running in Wingham in the next couple of years following the announcement of provincial funding of $1 million to procure the medical imaging machine.
“This is great news for our local communities and rural hospitals,” Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae stated in a press release on Dec. 15.
“It means local community members will be able to receive their necessary and critical treatment faster and closer to home.”
Rae announced that the Listowel Wingham Hospitals Alliance will receive $200,200 in 2022-23 and $800,800 in 2023-24 in funding to aid in operating and obtaining MRI’s from 2022 to 2024.
The province is providing about $20 million for the operating costs of 27 MRI machines across Ontario, health minister Sylvia Jones announced on Dec. 12.
LWHA ‘thrilled’ with support
“We are thrilled that the Province of Ontario is supporting MRI services in rural hospitals,” expressed LWHA President and CEO Karl Ellis.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique that uses a magnetic field and computer-generated radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues in your body, explains the Mayo Clinic website.
The hospital plans to bring the MRI machine to the Royal Oaks Health and Wellness Centre, which is across the road from the Wingham and District Hospital. The planning, purchasing and construction will take at least a year, so locals can expect the new machine to be up-and-running within the next couple of years.
“Training and hiring staff to work in the MRI will also take some time since MRI is a new technology for rural hospitals,” stated Ellis.
The new MRI machines aim to reduce wait times for the in-demand diagnostic imaging, eliminate the need to travel to larger hospitals from rural areas, and ultimately alleviate the pressure put on other hospitals with the diagnostic service.
Ontario Health data shows just 36 per cent of patients have MRI scans within the target time, which varies depending on priority.
Patients who should receive a less urgent scan within 28 days have an average wait time of 77 days, provincial data indicates.
“It is exciting to bring this important diagnostic service closer to home for residents of Huron, Perth and Bruce counties,” explained Ellis.
