St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital is Getting an MRI Machine

Published On: October 29, 2021

Jeff Yurek, MPP Announces Funding for an MRI Machine at STEGH
Investment Will Help Ensure Patients and Families Have Access to High-Quality Health Care

NEWS October 28, 2021

ST. THOMAS-ELGIN— Jeff Yurek, MPP is excited to announce that after years of advocacy, the Ontario government is taking further action to end hallway health care and address wait times for diagnostic imaging by investing in a new MRI machine at the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital. This new MRI machine will help ensure that people in St. Thomas and Elgin County can receive the high-quality care and diagnostic imaging they need when they need it.

“I am thrilled that our renowned local hospital will finally be able to have this technology onsite,” said MPP Yurek. “This new investment brings MRI services home to our community, making it easier for patients to receive the care they need without travel or delay.”

Under the previous government, new base investments to support the operations of net new MRI machines stopped in 2011 and were limited to one-time investments to support additional MRI operating hours. Over the last 10 years, the demand for MRI services has increased on average by approximately four per cent annually and wait times have worsened with 54 per cent of cases completed within target wait times in 2013/14 to 39 per cent of cases completed within target in 2019/2020.

“On behalf of St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital (STEGH), I’d like to thank the Honourable Jeff Yurek and the Government of Ontario for this significant investment in the future of health care for residents of St. Thomas and Elgin County,” says Karen Davies, President and CEO at STEGH. “The MRI will ensure that our patients have access to advanced testing to diagnose disease and injury, reducing the need for patients to travel outside of the community.”

This new investment brings MRI services to St. Thomas-Elgin, making it easier for patients to receive the care they need closer to home. It is part of the government’s $30 million investment in the 2021 Budget to support MRI services for patients and add new MRI machines to hospitals across the province.

As part of a wider, comprehensive surgical recovery plan to provide patients with the care they need, in 2021-22 the Ontario government is investing up to $324 million in new funding to enable Ontario’s hospitals and community health sector to perform more surgeries, MRI and CT scans and procedures, including on evenings and weekends.

The 2021 Budget, Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy, outlined a total of $1.8 billion in additional investments for hospitals in 2021-22. This includes funding to create more than 3,100 additional hospital beds to increase capacity, as well as an increase of $778 million in operating funding to ensure all publicly funded hospitals will receive a minimum one per cent increase to help them keep pace with patient needs and to increase access to high-quality care for patients and families across Ontario.

QUICK FACTS

The government is investing more than $22 billion in capital grants over the next 10 years for health infrastructure projects across Ontario that will lead to $30 billion in health infrastructure.