East Kootenay patients needing an MRI exam will be able to receive one sooner than thought, as a permanent unit in Cranbrook prepares to open.
The $5.3 million scanner promises to cut long wait times and is expected to be operational this summer.
It will replace a mobile MRI unit that travels to the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook for a week every month.
MRI, magnetic resonance imaging, is used to detect a variety of conditions, with a powerful magnetic field and radio waves producing detailed pictures of the body’s organs and structures.
Elk Valley patients currently face a 43-week wait for an exam.
“Demands for MRI testing have continued to increase over the last decade and we have reached maximum capacity for our testing at EKRH with a mobile MRI unit,” said Scott Edmonstone, director for medical imaging services for the Kootenays.
The permanent unit will increase regular MRI access for residents across the East Kootenay, including Elk Valley patients.
It comes amid a push to reduce medical wait times, with the B.C. Government committing an extra $11 million last month to increase the number of MRI exams carried out across the province.
“We anticipate being able to double the number of tests we are doing in Cranbrook to approximately 3000 per year once the new permanent unit is operational,” said Edmonstone.
Interior Health will contribute $2.21 million to the MRI project, while the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District is chipping in $2.14 million.
The East Kootenay Foundation for Health has donated $650,000, which includes $100,000 from the Kimberley Health Care Auxiliary, $50,000 from the Invermere Health Care Auxiliary, $25,000 from the Elk Valley Foundation and $100,000 from the Fostering the Future Foundation.
The remaining $650,000 will come from the Cranbrook Health Care Auxiliary.
Prior to the project being announced in June 2016, Interior Health increased MRIs in Cranbrook by about 20 per cent a year through a provincial MRI strategy.
While Elk Valley patients will soon have better access to MRI exams, it’s unlikely they will be tested at their local hospital anytime soon.
“MRI testing is a very specialized service only offered at larger regional centres based on the capital and operating resources required, as well as the staffing required to operate it,” said Edmonstone.