Incredible is the word to describe Sask. Health’s refusal of a $2 million donation to put an MRI in Estevan.
Oilfield business owner Elaine Walkom offered the $2 million donation to Sask. Health for an MRI in that city of 11,000.
People in that region have to drive two or three hours to Regina to the nearest MRI. The MRI would serve about 50,000 people in the southeast— similar to the old Moose Jaw health region.
According to a provincial website, the wait time in this province for an MRI was 246 days in the first half of this year That’s almost nine months.
Yet, Sask. Health refused the donation, saying it has no immediate plans for an MRI in Estevan. The province has 12 MRIs in various cities, including some private MRI clinics.
Another slap in the donor’s face was the suggestion she make the donation to some other health need.
Since the rejection, reasons for not accepting the $2 million have surfaced.
High cost of operation and scarcity of MRI technicians were suggested for rejecting the gift.
Some online searches and back-of-the envelope calculation indicate annual cost of operating an MRI range between $350,000 and $500,000.
That is a pretty significant number but is peanuts compared to the annual health care budget of $4.4 billion.
An MRI in the southeast would be more convenient for the customers and take some pressure off the 12 existing MRI units, thus reducing wait times.
Rejecting the donation only benefits private MRI clinics, whose operation seemingly hasn't really reduced wait times.
As for the scarcity of MRI technicians, certainly candidates can be found and trained for the near $100,000 annual salary.
This scenario reminds one of the outrage in Moose Jaw when designs for the new hospital were unveiled. Plans had no space for the hyperbaric chamber from the old hospital.
A campaign by some doctors and the media caused Sask. Health to include the hyperbaric chamber in the new hospital.
The hyperbaric chamber — one of two on the Prairies — was used primarily to treat burns. The unit can be used to treat 14 different conditions, according to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, NY.
A chamber patient told me a few years ago the wait time for the chamber was six months.
Hopefully the people of Estevan will get the MRI.
Ron Walter can be reached at [email protected]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
