Province plans to hire private MRI techs
Minister calls wait times ‘not acceptable,’ says semi-urgent patients can wait nine months
P.E.I.’s minister of health says he has instructed his own department to seek assistance from a private health staffing agency to fill magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technician positions in order to shorten wait times.
Mark McLane spoke in the legislature April 4 in response to a question posed by his Progressive Conservative colleague Tyler DesRoches, who remarked on the “ridiculously long wait times for an MRI” in the province.
"We often hear these lengthy wait times that are normally over a year and a half – 18 months – for a patient to get into an MRI appointment,” DesRoches said.
“Minister, these are statistics that nobody is proud of, nobody wants to hear of. Why do we have these prolonged wait times for this service?"
McLane said the province’s wait times for MRI procedures are “unacceptable.” He said this was partly due to staffing shortages at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which he said was running at “half-speed, so to speak.”
"I do know urgent exams have a timeline of two to four weeks. Semi-urgent is not acceptable at seven to nine months. So, I would agree with the honourable member that we need to improve that,” McLane said.
DesRoches asked what the province is doing to lower wait times.
McLane said two MRI technicians have been recruited to work at Health P.E.I. But he said they are both still completing their studies. Once they finish their training, McLane said, they are due to being working in P.E.I. in January of 2025.
“That's still not acceptable to me,” McLane said, referring to the time between now and 2025.
“So I've talked to the department. And I know people probably aren't going to like this answer but … I've instructed them to look for an agency, MRI tech to support that team for the next seven months,” McLane said.
Private health agency staffers have produced tension among nurses because these health workers draw a salary that is two to three times higher than their counterparts in the public system.
“We need to fix these wait times, we can't have people waiting this long. So, they are actively searching to fill those two positions until those two new positions start in January 2025," McLane said.
Speaking after question period, DesRoches said he receives emails from constituents every few weeks about MRI wait times. He said he heard from two this week.
DesRoches said he was happy with McLane’s response but acknowledged the use of travel agencies could produce some tension among comparable allied health staff.
He noted McLane said the
use of agency staff would be short-term until the new staff starts at Health P.E.I. in 2025.
“I was very pleased to know that a short-term fix was coming. Because as quick as we can reduce these wait times, it's better for the outcome of everybody on the Island,” DesRoches said.
McLane confirmed that his department has a contract with a private agency to fill the two MRI tech staff positions. McLane said the contract is under review but did not provide the name of the staffing agency.
He said the province has a complement of four total MRI technicians, of which two are currently filled. He said there was no long-term plan to continue hiring agency MRI tech staff after
January 2025.
In an email on April 5, Health P.E.I. clarified to SaltWire that the full complement of MRI technicians is 4.8, but confirmed there are only two filled. Two others recently left due to retirements.
“Enough is enough. We can't wait another eight months. The backlog is going to continue to increase. It's not ideal but I think it's important to note that it's temporary," McLane said.
Tracy Robertson, president of IUOE Local 942, the union representing MRI technicians, offered grudging support of the minister’s decision.
Robertson said the contracting out of staff would technically contravene the collective agreement. But she said her union’s board does not plan to file a grievance.
"It's a sore point. But right now, after I don't know how many years of staffing shortages, people just want a break."
Robertson said she would rather see public money going to pay more competitive wages for MRI techs in the province and said wages in the province are lower than counterparts elsewhere in the country. But she conceded the priority is to fill positions in the immediate term.
"Right now, we have two people to run an MRI system for the whole Island. And health wants a 24-7 system. So, it's just not feasible with the staff we have," Robertson said.