With tens of thousands of Manitobans waiting for MRIs, Portage la Prairie residents will make their case Tuesday to health officials, who’ve said a scanner for the area isn’t essential.
A town hall, organized by Portage la Prairie Tory MLA Jeff Bereza, has invited Shared Health officials, physicians, representatives from area First Nations, politicians and business owners.
“Our system is not working,” said Judith Jeffries, who, along with her husband Dave, paid for an MRI at a private clinic in Gatineau, Que., rather than wait in Manitoba.
The couple will argue at the town hall that the community needs an MRI so others won’t have to go elsewhere.
While Jeffries’ $850 MRI in Quebec was able to rule out a brain tumour for the seizures she has been experiencing, her husband’s $1,250 scan found his kidney cancer has returned.
Jeffries said when her husband contacted his cancer doctor with the results, he was told “he wanted to see us when we got back.
“He would still be waiting for an MRI if we hadn’t gone to Quebec. We waited almost three months and we decided to go there and I’m glad we did … my husband was supposed to get an MRI done at one month, three months, six months — and he didn’t get them.
“If he had it done at three months, they might have realized (his cancer) is growing.”
While the news wasn’t what the couple hoped for, Jeffries said it’s better to know what they are facing rather than waiting and worrying.
Bereza said he has heard similar stories since he launched a campaign for a new MRI last spring after receiving a letter signed by nearly three dozen local doctors.
He had previously accepted reasoning from health officials that there would not be enough scans to justify putting one inside the $455-million hospital being constructed there and set to open in 2026.
Bereza, who was elected for the first time during last year’s election, was not part of the Stefanson government that originally said no to a new scanner. He said his party now agrees an MRI should be part of the new hospital.
The Portage District General Hospital Foundation announced last June it would pay a minimum of $5 million for the scanner.
“With 24,000 people waiting for an MRI (in Manitoba), it’s needed now,” said Bereza, noting a Shared Health official confirmed attendance at the town hall.
“I do not want this to be a political issue. The PCs and the NDP both said no and I’ve never ever heard two wrongs make a right.
“Hopefully (health officials) come with answers.”
Portage Mayor Sharilyn Knox was briefed about the issue by Southern Health last year.
“We asked about the MRI and they indicated the numbers didn’t work,” said Knox. “They said they review the numbers every year.
“But they also said the (hospital) design allows for expansion in future. We definitely took it as not a no, but a not right now … we’re a council who rely on our experts.
“We look forward to the day when it comes.”
Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the government is open to an MRI in the area “should something change.”
Asagwara pointed out that not only did the previous Tory government agree an MRI wasn’t warranted at the new hospital, but, by cutting the training of more technologists, it made it more difficult to find the staff to operate the machinery.
The town hall will be held at the Prairie Fusion Arts & Entertainment facility from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
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