“These increased hours will make a real difference to people on the Island, and will benefit patients immediately,” said Comox Valley MLA Don McRae. “We are seeing increased demand for CT scans all over the province, and this will help us to provide better patient care, closer to home.”
The Vancouver Island Health Authority has increased CT scan operational time to four days per week, and a permanent CT Technologist is now on staff at WCGH. When the scanner at WCGH began operating in September 2009, it was staffed three days per week by Nanaimo Regional General Hospital CT Technologists to utilize the technical expertise immediately available.
This increase in operating time with an on-site technologist will see approximately 15-20 more patients a week being scanned, depending on the complexity of the exam.
“Wait times for routine scans have increased to 12 weeks since the opening of the scanner a year ago,” said Heather Gibson, VIHA’s Director of Medical Imaging. “This additional day of service should bring that wait time to within the VIHA CT wait time benchmark of seven weeks.”
The 64-slice Toshiba CT scanner in operation at WCGH is the best in CT technology. It was purchased in full by the West Coast General Hospital Foundation at a cost of $724,822. The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional Hospital District contributed 40 per cent (cost-shared with VIHA) towards the new $940,000 building that houses the scanner.
A CT scanner is a specialized X-ray machine that rotates around the body to produce very detailed thin “slices” of the body. Most CT exams produce 50 to 400 individual images that are interpreted by a Radiologist and permanently archived on medical imaging servers. CT scans show different types of tissue with great clarity and help to more easily diagnose cancers, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, trauma and musculoskeletal disorders.
Last year VIHA performed 94,957 CT scans, more than double the number done just six years ago, and at WCGH we did approximately 1,077 scans from September to March last year. VIHA operating funding for the CT program at WCGH is approximately $430,000.
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Contact: Val Wilson
VIHA Communications
250-739-6303