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The P.E.I. government’s announcement that it would fund MRIs at a private clinic isn’t sitting well with the Official Opposition.
The province announced Tuesday that it would pay for Islanders’ MRI scans if they’re referred to the Summerside Diagnostic Imaging Centre. The move is aimed at reducing lengthy wait times for the procedure.
Gord McNeilly, the health critic for the Opposition Liberal Party, said that while patients will get better access to MRI scans through the partnership, private businesses profiting from health care is not a way to sustain the system.
“It’s got to be a long-term plan to make sure that the health-care dollars stay in the public system,” McNeilly said.
“There is a need for it, but it could be fixed with the public system. We just need to invest more.”
Numbers from Health P.E.I. show most people wait up to 107 days for a semi-urgent MRI scan. The target is 28 days. (Gwyneth Egan/CBC)
Islanders in need of an MRI currently have to go to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown or travel to New Brunswick. Health P.E.I. also pays for MRIs for Islanders who are referred to a private clinic in Moncton.
McNeilly called the new partnership with the Summerside clinic “private creep.”
“Yes, people need MRI access, absolutely. But was Moncton the right thing to do? How much money … could we have put into another [MRI scanner]?” he said.
“It’s one of those things we’re not investing in and we’ve got to do more of that.”
McNeilly said the province should put money into improving access within the public health-care system, rather than private clinics.
“You’re getting a service, but what are you doing for the long-term sustainability of our health-care system? And that’s where this government has failed,” he said.
“I do believe that there have been some good things happen at Health P.E.I., but this is a major roadblock.”