Apparently a new MRI building doesn't guarantee Dauphin a new MRI.
CBC reported Wednesday that a spokesperson for the provincial government said a decision for an MRI facility at the Dauphin Regional Health Centre was pending.
A spokesperson tells CKDM the MRI building is currently under construction but construction on the MRI itself has not yet begun, and the province is currently reviewing where MRI resources are best allocated. The spokesperson says they are waiting for recommendations from the Wait Times Task Force.
Prairie Mountain Health says in a statement: the province has been clear that project reviews are being done to ensure maximum value for finite resources, a final decision is pending, and work on the project at this point remains status quo.
The province announced Wednesday the approval of 95 health care safety and security projects worth $30-million, but health minister Kelvin Goertzen noted that Manitoba Health will exceed its capital cap in 2017-18, making it necessary for several projects to be removed from the capital program. That includes a $300-million CancerCare facility in Winnipeg.
Goertzen accuses the previous administration of committing to many projects late in their run despite knowing of a limited ability to pay for them.
CKDM has been told health minister Kelvin Goertzen is away on vacation and is currently unavailable for comment.
