REGINA – Brad Wall (pictured) has promised changes to healthcare if the Saskatchewan Party is re-elected in the provincial election on April 4, including expanding the controversial private-pay MRI scan program to CT scans.

Under the MRI legislation, which went into effect earlier this year, patients can choose to pay out-of-pocket for a scan at a private clinic. That clinic must then provide one scan at no charge to a patient on the public list.

The Saskatchewan Party government said the plan would help cut the province’s lengthy MRI waitlists, but critics called it an erosion of public healthcare.

Wall said if re-elected, his government would also reduce health region administrative jobs and costs to the tune of $7.5 million, redirecting that cash to front line care in long-term care facilities.

It would also provide $500,000 in annual funding to the CNIB to integrate vision loss rehabilitation services into the mainstream health system.

The same amount would be added each year to a remote presence technology pilot project underway in Pelican Narrows, expanding the program to other communities. The pilot uses advanced robotic telemedicine to connect with a patient remotely and provide real-time assessments, diagnosis and patient management.