Ontario seeks more private MRI, CT clinics for public scans
Ontario is looking to boost the number of publicly funded MRIs and CT scans offered through private clinics.
Right now there are seven such clinics in the province that provide one or both of the diagnostic imaging services, and Health Minister Sylvia Jones is announcing today that Ontario has launched a call for applications to expand that number.
She says new licences are expected to be issued in the fall and should give the province the ability to perform 100,000 more of those scans each year.
The government says the expansion of services will help reduce wait times for the scans to 28 days in every region of the province - the Ontario average is currently 90 days for MRIs and 81 days for CT scans.
This comes as part of the government's plan to expand the number of facilities offering services such as cataract surgeries and adding hip and knee-replacement surgeries to those clinics.
Some health advocates have expressed concerns that increasing the role of private delivery is a stepping stone to privatization and having to pay for more services out of pocket, though the government says that will not happen.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Settlement reached in complaint over Canada Post layoffs as strike hits four weeks
The union representing Canada Post workers says an unfair labour practice complaint over the company's layoffs has been resolved.
Rescue group saves 11-year-old girl floating alone in the Mediterranean for days after shipwreck
An 11-year-old girl from Sierra Leone was found floating in the Mediterranean Sea off Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa, believed to be the only survivor of a shipwrecked migrant boat that had departed from the port of Sfax in Tunisia, a humanitarian group said Thursday.
Banks tell 2 Ontarians too much time has passed to cash decades-old cheque, GIC
Two Ontarians who recently found unclaimed money from decades-old investments were told by their banks there were no records of them in their systems.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatens to cut off energy to U.S. in response to Trump's tariffs
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has threatened to cut off energy supply to the U.S. in response to the tariffs President-elect Donald Trump plans to impose on all Canadian imports.
'We are in for more terrorism, not less,' warns Canadian terror expert amid Syria's political chaos
The collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime means the ticking time bomb of prisons holding thousands of suspected ISIS members in northeast Syria has become even more unstable, a Canadian terrorism expert warns.
Missing 'lost Canadians' deadline creates 'unknowable' number of new citizens: feds
The federal government is asking an Ontario Superior Court for more time to pass citizenship legislation for the "lost Canadians," saying that without an extension an "unknowable" number of people would automatically become citizens next week.
Elon Musk calls Justin Trudeau 'insufferable tool' in new social media post
Billionaire Elon Musk is calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'an insufferable tool' in a new social media post on Wednesday. 'Won't be in power for much longer,' Musk also wrote about the prime minister on 'X.'
More than 60,000 customers without power in the Maritimes due to wet, windy storm
Tens of thousands of customers in the Maritimes woke up to no power Thursday morning and several schools are closed as a wet and windy storm makes its way through the region.
Air Canada to offer free Wi-Fi on flights for Aeroplan members, sponsored by Bell
Air Canada plans to offer free Wi-Fi to Aeroplan members aboard its flights starting next year, building on a partnership with telecom giant Bell that already gives passengers free text messaging capabilities.