Ontario commits $20M for operating costs of MRI machines at small hospitals

Ontario is providing about $20 million for the operating costs of 27 newmagnetic resonance imaging machines across the province, the health minister said Monday.

At a morningnews conferencein Collingwood, Sylvia Jones saidthe money will be geared toward small and rural hospitals who do not yet have MRI machines.

Jones saidthe money is not for buying MRI machines, which can cost more than $1 million. Purchasing new machines will be left to individual hospitals.

Collingwood General and Marine Hospital president Michael Lacroix saidthe move will allow patients to stay within the region to get an MRI completed and also help alleviate pressures on other hospitals who have the machines.

Ontario Health data shows that only 36 per cent of patients have MRI scans within the target time which varies depending on priority and that patients who should be receiving a scan within 28 days have an average wait time of 77 days.