NLIS 10
March 21, 2005
(Health and Community Services)
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
2005 03 21
2:45 p.m.
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