Construction of a new $455-million hospital in Portage la Prairie, Man., is underway, but for some area residents, the new facility is missing a key feature.
The absence of an MRI scanner in the new hospital has been the subject of a petition signed by thousands, including Judy and David Jeffries, who live just minutes from Portage.
The couple have both found themselves in need of MRI scans for different medical issues, and with lengthy wait times across the province, the presence of a local scanner could go a long way toward alleviating their anxieties.
Judy told Global Winnipeg that she went to the doctor about seizures she had been experiencing — and although her family has a history of epilepsy, her doctors said they’d like to make sure it’s not something even more serious.
“We have to rule out a brain tumour instead of just assuming that it is genetic,” she said.
“So he requisitioned me to go to get an MRI and I have heard nothing in eight months. I haven’t received a letter to confirm where I’m going to go, or if I’m going to go or when I’m going to go.”
In addition to the need for a brain scan, Judy said, she’s also waiting on an MRI for a problem with her knee. Her husband David is also in need of a scan to see if his kidney cancer has returned.
“They said… he would have an MRI a one month, three months, six months and then a year after that for five years — and if no cancer showed up, they would cease doing them. But we haven’t had them.
“We’ve been married 45 years. I don’t want anything to happen to him. I can’t help but think if it is cancer, is it growing? How big is it going to get? How quickly is it growing?
“Is it possible that my seizures are caused from a brain tumour, and if it is, it’s been eight months and it’s growing… can it possibly get to a place where there’s nothing you can do?”
David said seven months after an ablation procedure, he received a CT scan, and despite finding something potentially concerning on the scan, his doctors said they can’t really say what it is until he can get an MRI to confirm it.
“I can feel something. It’s not painful, but there’s something going on,” he said.
“It’s frustrating. I’m not a person to dwell on it… I kind of say to myself, if it is something really serious and I don’t have much time and we can’t get this done… I guess maybe I’m going to die young.”
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who campaigned on health care reforms when he was elected one year ago Thursday, said his government is listening to Manitobans’ concerns as it tries to navigate the situation it was left by its predecessors.
“The previous government designed this hospital and started construction and there were no plans for an MRI in it,” Kinew told Global Winnipeg.
“So we’re managing the hand we were dealt from the previous government when it comes to health care.”
Kinew said the province is making progress on shoring up health-care staff and reducing wait times, but there’s still work to be done.
“We’ll continue to listen to people, we hear their concerns, and we’ll continue to have that conversation with them.”
Portage la Prairie MLA Jeff Bereza, however, a member of the previous Progressive Conservative government, says partisan politics need to be kept out of the situation, which is about people.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re NDP, Liberal, Conservative, Green Party — if you need an MRI ,you need an MRI,” he said.
Bereza said there’s such a need for MRI scans in Manitoba that even if the province ran the service 24/7, 365, it would only reduce the number of people on the list by about 8,000 — leaving roughly 16,000 still waiting. However, he just wants to see it get done, even if that means his party looks like the bad guy.
“I would stand on top of this building and take the blame if we can get it built,” Bereza said.
“If they want to blame someone, if anyone wants to blame someone, we’ll take the blame… but let’s get it done. We’re 18-24 months from opening the hospital. The timing is perfect, the timing is right, the timing is now.”
Meanwhile, sick of waiting, the Jeffries have arranged for MRIs at a private clinic in Quebec later this month; paying out-of-pocket for the trip and the scans.
“It’ll cost,” Judy said. “But when it comes to your life, I’ll spend the money. I’ll spend the money to have him around longer… because it’s better than him dying.”