The City of Melfort, the Melfort Hospital, and surrounding area will soon have their long-awaited CT scanner.
A press conference was held on Friday at the Melfort Hospital to announce more information in regards to the CT scanner that was promised in the government’s recent budget. A number of stakeholders were at the Friday announcement, including Minister for Rural and Remote Health, Warren Kaeding.
“Very thankful today that we’re able to get to that point where we’re able to provide Melfort and area with that CT scanner,” he said.
A CT scanner at the Melfort Hospital has been lobbied for since a promise was made in 2010 by the provincial government to bring the equipment to the city and the region. Kaeding said the provincial government is finally coming through on their promise.
“The CT scanner here was always a priority,” Kaeding told northeastNOW. “But there was always another priority that was a little bit bigger somewhere else.”
A timeline was announced as well for the incoming equipment as Bryan Witt, the executive director of Diagnostic Imaging for the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said they hope to have the CT scanner in by the end of “Q4” which would be the end of March 2021. However, he said they hope to have it possibly by January.
“We’re being quite aggressive and we want to get this in,” – Bryan Witt
“And it’s an exciting opportunity for the community here, so we really want to get that going real quick,” Witt said.
There are a few other pieces of the puzzle to sort out according to Witt, including dealing with vendor timelines, especially during COVID-19. There is also some training that needs to be done with some of the health care professionals at the hospital.
Witt added the CT scanner coming to Melfort will make 10 centres with the equipment in Saskatchewan; joining Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Regina, Lloydminster, Swift Current, Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Yorkton, and Estevan.
“When you look at the distribution of CT scanners across the province, there is sort of a gap in this area,” Witt said. “So, this will sort of solve that gap and what we will see is an adjustment to the flow of our patients.”
He said previously, patients in the North East would normally have to go to Prince Albert or Saskatoon, and now they will have the ability to do so in Melfort, that will ease the patient load in the other areas with CT scanners.
Witt said this CT scanner in Melfort will likely see anywhere from 2,600 to 3,900 scans per year, totaling around 3,000 to 3,500 patients.
The history of the CT scanner coming to Melfort started with Rod Gantefoer when he was the MLA for the Melfort constituency. He said there was some money set aside while he was in office to begin the renovation of the area in the hospital that would be used, and then things somewhat went by the wayside for a time, according to Gantefoer. Kevin Phillips was also a major cog in lobbying the government to bring the CT scanner to Melfort, starting when he was Mayor of Melfort, and continuing to when he became MLA for the area. After Phillips passing in 2017, Todd Goudy was elected as MLA and continued to lobby. Current Mayor Rick Lang was also a major piece from a City of Melfort perspective, always asking the provincial government when a CT scanner would come to Melfort.
Gantefoer, who is now part of the Municipal Health Advocacy Committee, said the equipment will help the whole region.
“It’s not Melfort’s CT Scanner, it’s the Northeast’s CT Scanner.” – Rod Gantefoer
Gantefoer added it is amazing to hear the announcement on Friday, but it’ll be even better when the equipment is installed.
“I’ll be happier than anything when we get the first scans done,” Gantefoer told northeastNOW. “Because I think it will be a start of really better service in the northeast.”
The CT scanner is another piece of the continued growth of health care in the region. Adding to the Melfort Heliport that is well on its way to completion, and the Wellness Centre that was opened in 2017, among others. Goudy, who was also at the event on Friday, told northeastNOW it’s great to see so many parties working together and making Melfort a healthcare hub.
“When you’re from the Melfort area, Tisdale, Nipawin, you’re not an island, you’re part of a big team,” Goudy said. “And we appreciate to be able to have part of the pieces here in Melfort that are needed for the Northeast, and we appreciate that very much.”
The CT scanner was around a $2 million capital commitment from the provincial government.
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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca
On Twitter: @matbarrett6
