(File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

CT scanner reaction

‘Very, very excited’: NCHCF on news of CT scanner for Melfort

Mar 20, 2020 | 5:00 PM

The chair of the North Central Health Care Foundation (NCHCF) is thrilled the provincial government will fund a new CT Scanner in Melfort.

In the government’s expense budget announcement on Wednesday, documents revealed $2 million is slated for a new CT scanner in the city, as part of a $4 million investment for diagnostic imaging in the province.

The funding comes 10 years after provincial officials announced their intention to financially support a new scanner in Melfort in 2010.

NCHCF chair Peggy George said she had a few reactions after the announcement.

“Very, very excited, and relief, I guess,” George told northeastNOW. “There’s been a lot of talk about it, a lot of speculation. We have been waiting a long time for it, and it’s just exciting to finally get the news that it’s coming.”

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George said having the equipment in Melfort will help in a number of ways.

“It definitely is going to [mean] hopefully shorter wait times, and less travel time is a big thing,” George said.

She said for some people, that extra trip to Prince Albert or elsewhere can be difficult if patients have no way to get there, or no one to drive them. There are also other patients that live in other areas within the health region.

“There’s people from a lot further away than an hour or two hours to a CT Scan, so this should definitely shorten the drive, the physical distance, and also the wait time,” George said.

The doctors also feel relief knowing the new equipment is on its way, she said.

“There [are] a lot of cases where they will be able to get a better diagnosis by having that CT scan, so they’re excited about it, we’re excited about it,” George said.

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cam.lee@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @camlee1974