Dauphin to receive promised MRI unit
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/12/2017 (2958 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
After months on hold, the province has confirmed the City of Dauphin will be receiving its much-anticipated MRI machine.
The magnetic resonance imaging facility first promised by the former NDP government in 2013 was supposed to be ready in March, but was put on hold during a review by the Manitoba Health wait times reduction task force.
Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen announced Thursday — despite recommendations from the task force that no further MRI facilities or machines be installed in the province — the Conservative government will go forward with one at the Dauphin Regional Health Centre.
The task force recommended the province should use the capacity it already has. However, Goertzen said a lot of money has already been invested in the Dauphin project, including the $5 million used for the construction of the building where the machine will be located.
“There is already a facility, in terms of the bunker, to house the MRI, which is a fairly specialized build,” he said, adding the community has also invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the project.
“It was a difficult decision, but there was significant community contribution in it.”
The health minister couldn’t say when the MRI facility will be fully operational. Despite rumours and previous reports of the $2-million MRI being purchased, Goertzen said the government hasn’t ordered it yet.
It could take three to four months to build a machine, depending on where the order is in the queue, he said. The shipping time and installation period has to be accounted for, so the residents of Dauphin will still have to wait for the machine.
“I don’t want to be throwing around a lot of dates, but we will try to do it as quickly as possible,” Goertzen said.
NDP Leader Wab Kinew has mixed feelings about the news. He said he’s pleased the Conservatives decided to go ahead with the Dauphin MRI, but disappointed it took them so long to make the decision.
“An MRI could serve 400 people a month, and every day the government delays means that more people have to make the drive to Winnipeg or Brandon. And wait times get longer for everyone,” he said.
kiera.kowalski@freepress.mb.ca
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Updated on Friday, December 22, 2017 6:16 AM CST: Edited