Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) has added equipment capable of performing thousands of additional scans a year.
The hospital has rolled out its third magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) unit. The machine is one of 27 across Ontario paid for with provincial funding announced in December 2022.
"We want to thank the Ontario government for awarding Windsor Regional Hospital the operating funds for a third MRI," said hospital president and CEO David Musyj in a media release.
The two existing machines have made possible 22,000 scans a year, with the third unit bringing that total to 33,000 annually.
The new equipment will help shorten the waitlist for non-urgent Priority 4 patients. About 5,400 patients in this category, which consists of issues like sore knees and shoulders, are waiting for an MRI.
The wait for an MRI at Windsor Regional Hospital averages about 160 days for non-urgent Priority 4 patients, more than double the provincial average of 73. However, the hospital said for Priority 3 patients, the median wait is about 14 days, less than the Ontario average of 26.
Priority 2 patients are typically able to get a scan at WRH almost right away, compared to a three-day wait provincially.
"Adding a third scanner will help to ensure patients have more timely access to MRI scans," said WRH Director of Diagnostic Imaging, Nuclear Medicine, Cardiopulmonary, and EEG Colleen Nelson. "This will lead to quicker diagnosis for patients who have health concerns."
All three MRIs are due to operate at full capacity by the end of the month, with scans taking place 18 hours a day, seven days a week.
The hospital has also asked the public to help reduce wait times by being mindful of MRI appointments, with one concern being patients who are no-shows. The hospital said that in 2022, 1,291 slots were unfilled because the patient did not show, an appointment that with proper notice given, could have been filled with someone on the waitlist.