**** Health / Wellness Release
More Access, Improved Wait Times for MRIs
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Four new medical resonance imaging (MRI) machines and a partnership with a medical imaging company will improve access and reduce wait times for patients.
“Improving access to healthcare services for Nova Scotians, like MRIs, requires us working together and using all the tools at our disposal,” said Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson. “I want to thank the Dartmouth General Hospital and QEII foundations and our partners at Nova Scotia Health for helping us deliver more care, faster, to Nova Scotians.”
Two MRI machines will be added to the system and two will be replaced:
– a new machine purchased through donations to the Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation will be in service at the hospital next month
– two machines will be replaced as part of the QEII Halifax Infirmary expansion project, with the first delivered by the end of June and the second later in the year
– the QEII Foundation, through donor support, has purchased a new relocatable MRI machine that can be moved to different facilities around the province; it is the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada and will be operational at the Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre by the end of July.
Nova Scotia Health will also enter into a five-year, $7.6-million agreement with Healthview Medical Imaging in Halifax to provide publicly funded MRI and ultrasound scans. There will be no cost to patients.
Quotes:
“Patients whose concerns are not as urgent as others are waiting too long for this important diagnostic testing. By working with government, foundation partners and business, we are using every avenue to make this care more accessible and timelier to those who need it.”
— Dr. James Clarke, Head of Diagnostic Imaging, Central Zone, Nova Scotia Health
“This demonstrates the profound power of philanthropy when partnered with government. Reduced wait times for MRIs will have an effect that reverberates across our healthcare system. We commend our champion Lead On MRI donors, including the J & W Murphy Foundation, the Calder family and Joseph and Violet Diab for their leadership. Together, with the Province of Nova Scotia, our supporters have united in this common effort to create healthier communities and provide direct access to MRI services for Dartmouth General Hospital in-patients and patients of the Fred Smithers Centre for Orthopedic Care.”
— Stephen Harding, President and CEO, Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation
“The QEII Foundation is dedicated to funding innovative solutions in healthcare, and we are grateful to the community of donors who have supported Atlantic Canada’s first relocatable MRI. Increasing access to care is one of the pillars of our $100-million We Are campaign, and this is one example of how we are delivering on our promise to transform healthcare. We have exciting opportunities coming up for QEII Foundation donors to help further expand access to MRIs with a mobile unit that travels the province.”
— Susan Mullin, President and CEO, QEII Foundation
Quick Facts:
– MRI machines use powerful magnets and a computer that take detailed pictures of inside the body to help doctors make decisions about treatment
– an MRI machine at the Victoria General Hospital is also scheduled for replacement in 2025
– the QEII Foundation will be fundraising to secure a mobile MRI unit
Additional Resources:
News release – New, Powerful MRIs for Halifax Infirmary: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2022/04/06/new-powerful-mris-halifax-infirmary
