New mobile MRI expected to address backlogs in Regina

Some long-awaited relief is coming to people waiting for MRIs in Saskatchewan

Regina General Hospital’s new portable MRI machine will boost MRI capacity by 5,000 scans over the next two years, according to the Ministry of Health.

Officials from the Ministry of Health, Saskatchewan Health Authority and James Smith Cree Nation were on hand for the announcement Tuesday of the equipment’s arrival.

The province is investing $2.4 million in the unit, with SHA contracting with James Smith Cree Nation and its entity National Medical Imaging to lease the mobile MRI for the hospital.

The province had said last December that it would bring in a mobile MRI to Regina to reduce the large backlog of people waiting for the procedure.

The backlogs have forced some Saskatchewan residents to travel to the U.S. to get the medical imaging procedure. The province says MRI wait times have decreased since 2023, but delays are still an issue for people living in Regina and southern Saskatchewan.

The MRI backlogs have forced some Saskatchewan residents to travel to the U.S. to get the medical imaging procedure. (CJME files)

Long wait times in Regina

Saskatchewan Minister of Health Everett Hindley said at the end of March there were 10,000 Saskatchewan patients waiting for MRIs. Saskatoon and Moose Jaw has 90 per cent of their patients receiving MRIs within 100 days, but in Regina the wait time is closer to 300 days.

Part of the issue, Hindley said, was Saskatoon has four in-hospital MRI machines. In Regina there are only two, both at Regina General Hospital.

“Adding this third machine, this mobile unit will address those ongoing concerns,” Hindley said, adding he was hopeful  the machine would “take a cut out of those on the wait list.”

Chief Kirby Constant of James Smith Cree Nation said the introduction of the mobile MRI unit “marks a pivotal point in our collective effort to enhance health care accessibility and patient care in Saskatchewan to residents in Regina and surrounding areas.”

Constant noted that a number of First Nations around the Regina area use the hospital and this would help them with their care as well. He said their collaboration with the province “enhances the strength and potential for partnerships between communities and healthcare organizations.”

Hindley praised the relationship with James Smith Cree Nation, pointing to their previous partnership in bringing an MRI machine to Saskatoon a few years ago.

“It really is an amazing partnership,” said Hindley. “I think this is yet another step in what we’re trying to do as a government in partnering with our First Nations, whether it’s this MRI unit here, the virtual health hub with Whitecap Dakota, or the many other initiatives we’re working on with our First Nations partners.”

The MRI machine arrived in June, and the space where it will be located is already in place at the hospital, but the unit won’t be up and running until the end of July.

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