MRI wait times in Nova Scotia lag national average

HALIFAX – Thousands of people across Nova Scotia are on the wait-list for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and, for some, their wait could last over a year. Dr. Ania Kielar (pictured), president of the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR), says the average Canadian patient waits between 50 and 89 days to be seen for an MRI – much longer than the expected 28-day range.

“When you have to wait longer … this can be very bad for you personally, because it can lead to worse health outcomes,” Dr. Kielar told Global News. “You may have to have more intense therapy, more invasive surgery and your life expectancy may be shorter.”

Across Nova Scotia, MRI wait times can get as long as over one year in areas of the province. In Kentville, 90 percent of wait-listed patients are seen within 457 days. That number changes to 425 days for Yarmouth and 354 days for the Halifax region.

Not only does waiting for a diagnosis after an MRI make getting surgeries and therapies more difficult, but it also impacts the economy.

“When people are sitting at home and unable to work because they’re off and they don’t have a diagnosis, it actually costs our economy a lot in terms of the GDP,” Dr. Kielar said. She says people waiting at home for a diagnosis account for a $4-billion cost to the economy.

“We don’t meet the current standards by the CAR for the number of MRIs for our population,” Dartmouth General Hospital (DGH) radiologist Dr. Carla Pittman said. “What that means is that people are waiting well beyond the national standard.”

Kielar says the way to address the problem is to provide up-to-date, modern equipment and a supply of technologists and nurses to run things. DGH is looking to tackle the problem with a new, community-funded MRI unit – a project that doctors have been waiting on for nearly eight years.

“We heard from the community that this is the number one priority,” DGH Foundation president and CEO Stephen Harding said. “From our board members, doctors, community members, everybody wanted to really zero in and focus on bringing an MRI to Dartmouth General, and we’ve been able to make that happen.”

After raising money for the last two and a half years, the MRI unit will be a first for Dartmouth and feature an orthopedic package. “It is anticipated that we will decrease the wait times within the central zone by about 26 percent in the first year, which is a huge impact on patient care,” Dr. Pittman said.

It’s a great start, but Dr. Kielar wants to see more modern equipment across the country and 2,000 more (medical radiation technologists) MRTs and sonographers hired in the next three years to keep up with increasing demand.

Currently, there is a 10 percent job vacancy rate in the radiology field. “We just can’t keep up. We can’t catch up for the stuff that got delayed because of COVID,” Kielar said.

Dartmouth General Hospital is anticipating the MRI unit will open in March 2024.