Not only are more Manitobans waiting for MRI scans, they are waiting longer.
The situation isn't great if you are waiting for a hip replacement, either. Manitoba is the only province where the waiting times went up in the last year.
But good news comes for those who have a short wait: While there are thousands of Manitobans waiting for a CT scan they're getting them done more quickly.
The figures are contained in a report -- made public as a result of a Free Press freedom of information request -- and in a report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Despite injections of millions of dollars by the provincial and federal governments, Manitoba continues to have long waiting lists and times for some key procedures that have been targeted for reductions for years.
Health Minister Theresa Oswald acknowledges wait times for MRI scans are one problem area that needs addressing. Manitoba is the only province where wait times for the procedure have gone up. The provincial average wait time for the procedure is 18 weeks, with 24 weeks in Winnipeg and 13 weeks at Boundary Trails Health Centre near Morden and Winkler.
"We're not satisfied and we believe we can do better," Oswald said, adding the province is in the process of injecting $500,000 to trim the waiting list down by six weeks by the end of 2011.
Oswald said the waiting list is not for emergency patients. "They don't go on a wait list, they happen immediately."
But Oswald said the waiting list is still better than in the past.
"Eighteen weeks is not the best spot we've been, but it's a really good distance from 32 weeks like we were at when our Opposition was in control of it," she said.
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