New MRI machines to cut patient wait times at Waterloo region hospitals

People in Waterloo region will have more access toMRI services as new machines are slated to come to regional hospitals.

Grand River Hospital will get a new MRI machine in the new year and the province announced funding to support the operation of a machine at St. Mary's General Hospital in Kitchener,Kitchener-ConestogaMPP Mike Harris announced Tuesday.

The announcement comes as local hospitals have seen an increase demand forMRI services over the past decade, Harris said.

"Countless individuals have had to travel to London, Hamiltonor Toronto to get their diagnostic tests met," he said during the announcement.

Ron Gagnon, president and CEO of Grand River Hospital saidthe hospital conducts more than 17,000 MRI scans annually andits current machine needs to be replaced.

He said an earlier funding announcement helped with the replacement of that machine, which is scheduled tohappen in January 2022.

A second machine, scheduled to be operational by summer 2022, meansthe hospital will beable to "get up to speed" and significantly reduce wait times for patients.

"With the implementation of a second MRI at Grand River, we'll be able to cut our wait times from seven months to less than 90 days," Gagnon said.

First MRI machine at St. Mary's General

ForMarionThomson Howell, chair ofSt. Mary's General Hospital, having an MRI machine at the hospital will mean patients will be able to access those services on site for the first time.

"[When] we have patients at St. Mary's that require MRI scans, we have to transport them usually to Grand River, which is not the best patient care," she said. "Now we'll be able to serve them right in our own walls."

The announcement is part of a $30 million investment by the province to add new MRI machines to hospitals across the province, Harris said.