Groups hope budget includes funding for more MRI techs

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This article was published 27/03/2024 (531 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Higher demand for MRIs has prompted warnings about increasing wait times and understaffing from the organizations that represent workers who perform the diagnostic scans in Manitoba.

“We’re seeing the demand for MRI increasing year after year, and yet we’re not seeing similar investments in the workforce and in the professionals that are needed to do those scans,” said Dayna McTaggart, provincial manager of the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists-Manitoba.

Her group, as well as the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, the union that represents MRI technicians, said Wednesday not enough permanent job postings have been made fill existing vacancies.

They decided to voice their concerns ahead of the Manitoba budget, which will be released April 2.

McTaggart called attention to a 2022 statement from Shared Health indicating the recommended wait time for an elective MRI is 60 days (8.5 weeks).

As of January 2024, the median wait time for an MRI in Manitoba was 20 weeks. The highest wait was at Grace Hospital (24 weeks median) and Health Sciences Centre (21 weeks median), as per the online provincial dashboard.

In 2022, it was recommended Manitoba add 15 or 16 full-time MRI tech positions to help reduce wait times, McTaggart said.

In a statement, a Shared Health spokesperson said work is being done to reduce wait times, but didn’t acknowledge that previous 60-day goal or a staff shortage.

Priority is given to urgent patients, but the 90th percentile wait time for elective outpatient MRIs was about 40 weeks as of late January, Shared Health stated.

Demand for MRIs has increased by about 25 per cent since the pandemic began in 2020.

There are 71.25 full-time equivalent MRI techs in Manitoba and 3.2 full-time equivalent positions are currently vacant. Those positions are posted and expected to be filled in the coming weeks, Shared Health stated.

A spokesperson cited the most recent figures available from Canada’s Drug and Health Technology Agency which indicate the number of MRI techs in Manitoba is more than double the per-million national average, at 48.8 compared with 19.7.

“We appreciate that waiting for diagnostic tests can be a stressful experience, which is why work is underway to increase diagnostic capacity and lower wait times across the province. This includes work to establish MRI services in northern Manitoba, which will bring care closer to patients living in the north,” Shared Health stated.

McTaggart said the organization is worried about burnout and is concerned Manitoba students may not seek training in the field.

“The perception is there are no MRI jobs in the province, and that’s certainly impacting the number of people that are interested in obtaining this education and certification, or those (already educated) are looking at employment in other jurisdictions, out of province, where there are permanent positions.”

The organization surveyed its members and found that half of the MRI technologists in Manitoba were considering leaving their jobs, citing safety concerns.

In a statement, MAHCP president Jason Linklater raised concerns about MRI techs in rural areas being expected to work alone because of what he described as a failure to staff up appropriately.

“As Manitobans wait longer for tests, current Red River Polytech MRI students nearing graduation are not seeing any permanent jobs postings. Manitoba is going to lose these new grads to other provinces,” Linklater stated.

“MAHCP is hopeful that next week’s budget will make significant investments in the people who deliver care, and that the provincial government will force real culture change at Shared Health and other health regions to put staff first.”

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca