Vernon and Interior hospitals benefit from investments in new CT, MRI machines

Jun 6, 2024 | 11:09 AM

A provincial investment into medical machinery has supported some hospitals in the Interior, including the one in Vernon.

The B.C. Government announced it delivered 18 new magnetic resonance imaging units (MRIs) and nine new computer tomography (CT) scanners to the health care system since the summer of 2017. Those included three MRI units and two CT scanners in the Interior.

“In 2018, our government said we would improve access to MRI and CT scan exams for people in British Columbia to get their diagnosis faster, and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, said.

“In 2023-24, we worked together with the health authorities and medical imaging teams to increase our capacity to perform more medical imaging in B.C. The data show we have performed more than 322,000 MRI exams and over 994,000 CT scans. We are committed to finding ways to put patients first and reduce wait times so they can get their treatment and recover sooner.”

The province’s Medical Imaging Annual Progress report stated one of the MRIs was delivered to the Vernon Jubilee Hospital in September of 2019, while one of the CT scanners was also provided to VJH in November of 2023.

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The Penticton Regional Hospital was also provided with a CT and an MRI unit, while the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook received the other MRI.

Of the completed MRI scans in 2023-24, the province’s report stated 54,737 were completed in the Interior. In that same time frame, 189,248 CT scans were completed in the Interior. Comparably, there were 46,718 MRI scans and 171,998 CT scans completed in the Interior in 2022-23.

The province also increased the capacity for the number of hours scanners could operate.

In March saw B.C.’s MRI hours of operations increase to 4,960 hours per week, which was 1,514 hours more than their weekly use in March of 2017.

During that same month, CT scanners throughout the province were operated for 6,693 hours per week, which marked an increase of 102 hours compared to the weekly use in March of 2023.

Vernon Matters has reached out to Interior Health for more details on the services provided at the local hospital.

Additionally, the province has taken steps to expand the health care workforce.

As of April 1, 2024, new initiatives were in place to draw more people to rural and urban communities. The programs provide a bonus of up to $30,000 to people filling high-need vacancies in Northern Health, up to $20,000 in other rural and remote areas, and up to $15,000 for specific difficult-to-fill spaces in urban or metro communities.

The province also expanded its Provincial Rural Retention Incentive on April 1, providing up to $8,000 per year for health-care workers living and working in eligible rural and remote communities.

by Liam Verster

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