MRI service at Penticton Regional Hospital now underway after delay

PENTICTON – Patients at Penticton Regional Hospital who are finding themselves frustrated by long MRI  wait times even after the opening of the David E. Kampe tower may soon be finding some relief.

Interior Health announced today, Aug. 7, service on the new, permanent  MRI machine has started in the new hospital tower.

Interior Health’s medical imaging program director Tim Rode said in an email statement to INFOnews.ca today, Aug. 7, the average wait time for an MRI in Penticton is currently about 125 days.

“Specific waits can vary based on the urgency of the exam. MRIs are not generally an emergency test, but the most urgent patients are seen within a week,” he wrote.

The new MRI service was originally scheduled to begin at the same time as the opening of the David E. Kampe Tower at the end of April, but the service was delayed due to flooring issues that have since been rectified. A mobile MRI machine was secured in the interim and more than 650 MRIs were done over the past three months.

The new machine is expected to handle 5,000-plus scans annually, with an expectation as capacity builds, patients will have shorter waits for a scan.

Penticton’s $3 million MRI machine is the first of its kind to be installed in a Canadian hospital.

“We recognize waits for MRIs are frustrating for patients and their physicians. Once the new service is underway, we will increase Penticton exams by about 1,500 per year, which will help people access this medical imaging tool more quickly,” Rode said.

Rode used Cranbrook’s new MRI machine as an example, saying since it started in the summer of 2018, wait times have decreased from 110 days to fewer than 30 days currently.

“It may take a bit of time to bring wait times in Penticton down, but we have started on that path. It is also worth noting that under provincial MRI strategy we had already increased the MRIs we were doing in Penticton by 25 per cent over the last two years,” Rode said.

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