Government acts to reduce patient wait times;
$23.2 million investment delivers 43,344 more procedures across province

The Williams government is reducing the time provincial residents wait for important health services through the delivery of 43,344 additional MRI, CT, cardiac and other key diagnostic procedures, surgeries, as well as cancer treatments, Health and Community Services Minister John Ottenheimer announced today.

Budget 2005 allocates $23.2 million ($14.2 million one-time and $9 million in on-going funding) to improve access to key services by purchasing new medical equipment, modernizing diagnostic and medical equipment and expanding select services in all of the province�s major health care centres.

"We are aggressively acting to ensure that people who are suffering from serious health problems don�t have to wait longer than necessary for the appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Investing in advanced medical technology is one of the best ways we can give our residents access to the most effective care," said Minister Ottenheimer. "Strategic investments like these allow us to bring state-of-the-art treatment options to patients closer to where they live."

Highlights of New and Upgraded Equipment:

• $2.6 million towards a second MRI in St. John�s, delivering 2,500 new exams a year and reducing wait times by four months;
• $2 million towards replacing two existing CT Scanners with new multi-slice CT Scanners at the Health Sciences Centre and St. Clare�s Hospital, delivering 4,000 more exams a year and shortening wait times to two weeks. This will increase capacity for diagnosing heart and brain disease as well as handling trauma cases;
• $1.3 million for new ultrasound equipment in Carbonear (replacement), Corner Brook (new), St. John�s (new) and Labrador City (new), delivering 16,050 more exams a year. A new ultrasound cardiac package will be introduced at Captain William Jackman hospital meaning approximately 36 current out-of-region referrals can be done on site with new technology;
• $2.6 million for four nuclear medicine gamma cameras used for bone and thyroid scans and specific cardiac procedures, in St. John�s (replacement) and Corner Brook (new), delivering 2,900 new exams a year;
• $2.5 million for four new mammography units in St. John�s, Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor, delivering 10,700 more exams a year;
• $1 million for a new endoscopy unit in Corner Brook and to enhance the endoscopy unit in Gander, shortening wait times approximately 40 per cent and delivering 3,400 new exams a year; and
• $75,000 for new laparoscopic equipment in Corner Brook, shortening wait times by 30 per cent and delivering 350 new procedures a year.

Highlights of Expanded Services:

• $1.2 million to increase cardiac surgeries by 184 cases annually and improve access to echocardiograms, delivering 900 more exams each year;
• $350,000 to introduce Visudyne, a new photo dynamic therapy used to treat age-related macular degeneration, for 200 patients per year;
• $2.6 million to increase surgical capacity for joint replacement at the St. John�s hospitals. This will result in an additional 340 surgeries each year for hip, knee and joint replacements;
• $520,000 to support dialysis services in Gander and Carbonear, allowing 30 patients to receive services closer to home;
• $225,000 to extend the hours of operation of the Newfoundland Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation centre in St. John�s to give cancer patients greater access to chemotherapy and radiation;
• $3.5 million to increase surgical capacity for cancer patients, resulting in 740 additional surgeries a year and a 30 per cent reduction in wait times;
• $60,000 to extend hours of operation to include weekend coverage for mammography and endoscopy services in Grand Falls-Windsor, delivering an additional 780 exams; and
• $100,000 to enhance cardio perfusion tests and bone scans in Gander, delivering 300 more tests.

This investment builds on government�s Blueprint commitment to improve timely access to quality health care and meets a goal of the 2004 First Ministers (FMM) Health Accord signed in September 2004 by Premier Williams and all other first ministers to achieve meaningful reduction in wait times in priority areas such as cancer, heart, diagnostic imaging, joint replacements and sight restoration.

"Our government is delivering a plan to give people better access to vital services and a fighting chance against diseases where early detection leads to better patient outcomes," added Minister Ottenheimer.

It is anticipated that the majority of the medical equipment will become operational by the fall of 2005, and the province�s third MRI will become operational in the spring of 2006.

All of these investments are supported through the monies of the 2004 FMM Health Accord. In addition, the health care foundations in St. John�s will be asked to provide $2.3 million towards the purchase of the MRI and two replacement CT Scanners in St. John�s.

Media contact: Carolyn Chaplin, Communications, (709) 729-1377, 682-5093

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2005 03 21                        2:45 p.m.