Appointments for nearly 100 MRI patients cancelled at Victoria Hospital – CBC

A lack of MRI technologists across Canada contributes to growing backlog of patients

Jul 13, 2023

Staffing issues and an equipment failure at Victoria Hospital in London, Ont., led to the cancellation of nearly 100 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appointments during the first two weeks of July.

The appointments of 10 patients were cancelled on July 1 due to a lack of staff and 86 appointments were cancelled on July 7 when a cooling unit on an MRI machine malfunctioned.

LHSC said some patients whose appointments were cancelled were rebooked at University Hospital, while others have been rescheduled.

According to a government agency tracking the average wait times across Ontario, patients booked for an MRI in London expected to wait an average of 24 to 248 days, depending on the severity of the patient’s condition.

The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is hiring more staff and is bringing in a fifth MRI machine for Victoria Hospital in an effort to shorten wait times, said John French, the corporate executive for diagnostics at the LHSC.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/victoria-hospital-cancelled-mri-appointments-1.6904591