Residents, politicians call for MRI scanner at new Portage la Prairie hospital

Construction of a caller $455-million infirmary successful Portage la Prairie, Man., is underway, but for immoderate country residents, the caller installation is missing a cardinal feature.

The lack of an MRI scanner successful the caller infirmary has been the taxable of a petition signed by thousands, including Judy and David Jeffries, who unrecorded conscionable minutes from Portage.

The mates person some recovered themselves successful request of MRI scans for antithetic aesculapian issues, and with lengthy hold times crossed the province, the beingness of a section scanner could spell a agelong mode toward alleviating their anxieties.

Judy told Global Winnipeg that she went to the doc astir seizures she had been experiencing  — and though her household has a past of epilepsy, her doctors said they’d similar to marque definite it’s not thing adjacent much serious.

“We person to regularisation retired a encephalon tumour alternatively of conscionable assuming that it is genetic,” she said.

“So helium requisitioned maine to spell to get an MRI and I person heard thing successful 8 months. I haven’t received a missive to corroborate wherever I’m going to go, oregon if I’m going to spell oregon erstwhile I’m going to go.”

In summation to the request for a encephalon scan, Judy said, she’s besides waiting connected an MRI for a occupation with her knee. Her hubby David is besides successful request of a scan to spot if his kidney crab has returned.

“They said… helium would person an MRI a 1 month, 3 months, six months and past a twelvemonth aft that for 5 years — and if nary crab showed up, they would cease doing them. But we haven’t had them.

“We’ve been joined 45 years. I don’t privation thing to hap to him. I can’t assistance but deliberation if it is cancer, is it growing? How large is it going to get? How rapidly is it growing?

“Is it imaginable that my seizures are caused from a encephalon tumour, and if it is, it’s been 8 months and it’s growing… tin it perchance get to a spot wherever there’s thing you tin do?”

David said 7 months aft an ablation procedure, helium received a CT scan, and contempt uncovering thing perchance concerning connected the scan, his doctors said they can’t truly accidental what it is until helium tin get an MRI to corroborate it.

“I tin consciousness something. It’s not painful, but there’s thing going on,” helium said.

“It’s frustrating. I’m not a idiosyncratic to dwell connected it… I benignant of accidental to myself, if it is thing truly superior and I don’t person overmuch clip and we can’t get this done… I conjecture possibly I’m going to dice young.”

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who campaigned connected wellness attraction reforms erstwhile helium was elected 1 twelvemonth agone Thursday, said his authorities is listening to Manitobans’ concerns arsenic it tries to navigate the concern it was near by its predecessors.

“The erstwhile authorities designed this infirmary and started operation and determination were nary plans for an MRI successful it,” Kinew told Global Winnipeg.

“So we’re managing the manus we were dealt from the erstwhile authorities erstwhile it comes to wellness care.”

Kinew said the state is making advancement connected shoring up health-care unit and reducing hold times, but there’s inactive enactment to beryllium done.

“We’ll proceed to perceive to people, we perceive their concerns, and we’ll proceed to person that speech with them.”

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Portage la Prairie MLA Jeff Bereza, however, a subordinate of the erstwhile Progressive Conservative government, says partisan authorities request to beryllium kept retired of the situation, which is astir people.

“It doesn’t substance if you’re NDP, Liberal, Conservative, Green Party — if you request an MRI ,you request an MRI,” helium said.

Bereza said there’s specified a request for MRI scans successful Manitoba that adjacent if the state ran the work 24/7, 365, it would lone trim the fig of radical connected the database by astir 8,000 — leaving astir 16,000 inactive waiting. However, helium conscionable wants to spot it get done, adjacent if that means his enactment looks similar the atrocious guy.

“I would basal connected apical of this gathering and instrumentality the blasted if we tin get it built,” Bereza said.

“If they privation to blasted someone, if anyone wants to blasted someone, we’ll instrumentality the blame…but let’s get it done. We’re 18-24 months from opening the hospital. The timing is perfect, the timing is right, the timing is now.”

Meanwhile, sick of waiting, the Jeffries person arranged for MRIs astatine a backstage session successful Quebec aboriginal this period — a travel they’re paying out-of-pocket for.

“It’ll cost,” Judy said, but erstwhile it comes to your life, I’ll walk the money. I’ll walk the wealth to person him astir longer… due to the fact that it’s amended than him dying.”