Regional hospital approved to buy new MRI machine
New technology with better imaging may reduce wait times
Patients needing an MRI in Cape Breton may soon see a reduction in wait times, thanks to approval from the provincial government to buy a new machine.
New MRI equipment is faster, has better imaging and is larger inside. It also can have extras like Cinevision for patients to watch movies while getting their examination.
The announcement was made on Tuesday at the hospital to a crowd of about 50 people.
“It is the right time for us, before this MRI shuts down,” said Dr. Syed Zafar Ali, chief radiologist at the hospital.
The current magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) equipment, a 1.5 Tesla MRI, is about 14 years old and has started shutting down more frequently, for longer periods of time. When that happens, patient appointments have to
be cancelled.
Even with the older machine, the Cape Breton Regional Hospital has the shortest wait times for MRIs in the province and people from all over Nova Scotia come here for the examination.
“In a month we do about 535 patients … currently about 25 to 30 patients in a day,” explained Ali, who is also the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s Eastern Zone head of diagnostic imagining.
Tim Guest, the vice-president of integrated health services program care and chief nursing officer for the NSHA Eastern Zone, praised the team at the Regional Hospital for their dedication to reducing wait times.
“From April 2016 to April 2017 the wait times at the regional hospital were brought down from 173 days to 65 days,” he said. “That is a huge feat and it makes me so happy to think what they will be able to do with a machine that is much quicker.”
MRI examinations take pictures of structures and organs in the body. They can take anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour and are used for illnesses like cancer, multiple sclerosis and tumours. These are only a few of the things an MRI scan can detect.
With the new equipment a patient exam that now takes 30 to 35 minutes could take 20 to 25 minutes.
“Even five minutes less will mean we can accommodate more patients in a day,” explained Ali. “If we are able to squeeze in two or three more patients a day that could mean an extra 70 to 100 patients in a month and that will improve our wait time.”
Since the new machine also provides better images with higher resolution, doctors and specialists will be able to diagnose people more effectively, deal with more complex illnesses and see subtle things that the current MRI unit can’t.
“That will definitely improve our standard of care … We are all excited to have some new equipment so we can serve our community better,” Ali said.
Right now, some patients are unable to get their MRIs done at the regional hospital because they are too large for the machine and some exams have to be sent to Halifax for diagnosis. Both of these issues should be eliminated with the new machine.
The MRI unit is being bought as a partnership between the provincial government, the NSHA and the Cape Breton Hospital Foundation.
If budget allows, there is hope they will be able to add some extras for things like Cinevision. Since patients need to stay still during their MRI exam, being able to watch a movie can help them do that, especially when dealing with children.
“I have a niece and she watches a movie when she’s in Halifax having her MRI … so it takes the worry and the scare out of the experience,” said Linda Jones, director of diagnostic imaging for the Eastern Zone of the NSHA.
Minister of Municipal Affairs Derek Mombourquette made the announcement on behalf of Health and Wellness Minister Randy Delorey.
“This is important infrastructure for the Cape Breton Regional Hospital,” he said.
“This not only supports the residents of Cape Breton but the residents across the province who come here to receive an MRI so this is a significant investment for here.”
The new MRI unit will cost roughly $2.2 million and a request for proposals will go out in a few weeks.