MRI wait times among the longest in the province for London, Ont. area patients
Newly released provincial data shows London and area hospitals have some of the longest wait times in the province to receive an MRI scan.
That’s a major concern, according to health watchdog Ontario Health Coalition. London representative Peter Bergmanis said the long waits can take a toll on patients.
“Well I would think I’d be very stressed out and I also wouldn’t want to have that worry on top of what a diagnosis could be,” said Bergmanis.
According to the data from Ontario Health, as of January 2024, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) University Campus had an average wait of 230 days for an MRI scan for the lowest priority patients.
Overall, it only met its MRI target times 16 per cent of the time.
The wait at LHSC Victoria was 218 days with 21 per cent of patients receiving scans within the target time. While at St. Joseph’s Health Care the wait was 92 days, but only 13 per cent of patients received scans on time.
The provincial average was 91 days, with 31 per cent on time.
LHSC Clinical Diagnostics Executive John French said he’s hoping the long waits will become a thing of the past as new MRI machines have recently been installed, and new staff have been trained.
“This is an area of concern for us,” said French. “Currently we’re trying to improve it. And the means to improve it is by improving the technology, the equipment that we have, and making sure we have the adequate staffing to operate that equipment.”
OPSEU 106 President Steve McCaw, who represents MRI technologist among other health care staff, said the province only funds so many hours per week for MRI scans, so the machines sit for several hours every week without getting used.
“So to me, there’s still the capacity to staff these scanners to run more hours if the provincial funding allowed them to do so,” said McCaw.
At Stratford General Hospital, just 16 per cent of patients received an MRI scan within the target time, with an average wait for low priority patients of 147 days.
Woodstock General has an average wait of 176 days with 17 per cent of patients scanned within target time.
MRI wait time data was not available for hospitals in Sarnia Lambton, Chatham-Kent, or Windsor, which were all targeted in a major cyber attack last year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.