Hospital wait times have been through the roof for the longest time. But, many Hospitals throughout London are finding wait times to be improving. More specifically, MRI scans.
XFM News spoke to the LHSC and were able to provide a statement regarding the improvement.
“We know that waiting for an MRI scan can be stressful for patients and their families. Together, we are actively working to improve MRI wait times for patients at both London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s).”
Hospital waiting room (credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The statement continued to discuss what the process of getting an MRI scan is, understanding how they’re able to see success.
“Every day, all patient referrals for MRI’s are reviewed and triaged by a team of Radiologists, physicians that specialize in imaging science, using criteria set by the Ministry of Health that identifies patients based on their urgency. There are 4 categories from priority 1-4 with 4 being the least urgent.”
“We’re pleased that over the past several years LHSC and St. Joseph’s have upgraded our MRI machines to improve imaging quality, efficiency and patient comfort.”
“LHSC has also added a fifth unit to its MRI fleet in September 2024 that is dedicated to low priority scans to allow the remaining four units to focus on urgent priority cases.”
While the LHSC works hard on better wait times, they strive to make sure Londoners remember some of the difficulties they face as they work hard.
“What is important to know is that there are several factors that contribute to MRI wait times such as; increasing pressure to serve growing volumes, staffing, the level of severity of patient conditions, equipment downtime for upgrades, maintenance and safety checks.”
There are many things for the LHSC to look forward to as they implement plans for further advancing their wait times, as per their statement.
“In addition, to help to address the wait times, we have partnered with Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital and St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital. We are also working with Ontario Health on a centralized referral project for the Southwest Region aimed at optimizing MRI services and directing patient referrals to hospitals with available MRI time across the region to provide equitable access to care.”
Hospital hallway (credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The statement finishes with a message for the citizens of London and patients within the LHSC.
“Patient care is our top priority, and we are working as a team across our region to improve MRI wait times for everyone. We encourage patients and their families to contact patient relations if they have any concerns with their care.”
The LHSC and St. Joseph’s Hospital performed a combined 30 per cent more MRI scans in 2024/2025 compared to 2023/2024, with referral volumes increasing, impacting wait times.
