Sask. declines $2M donation for new MRI in Estevan to the dismay of mayor, Opposition | CBC News

The Saskatchewan government declined an offer for a $2-million donation that would bring a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine to southeast Saskatchewan.

In March of this year Elaine Walkom, a businesswoman from Estevan, Sask., wrote to then-provincial health minister Paul Merriman offering to buy the machine and train two technicians to operate it at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan.

“We were very excited and all of our surrounding [rural municipalities] were very excited,” Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig told CBC.

The province declined the offer. 

In an email to CBC, the Ministry of Health thanked Walkom for her generosity, but said “the development of a thorough plan is key to determining if and how a new health care service can be supported and accessible in the long term.”

Return to sender

An MRI scan is a medical test that takes images of the inside of the human body, including organs, bones, muscles and blood vessels.

In a series of letters shared with CBC, Walkom had offered the MRI as a way to give back to the community where she had been successful, and as part of her late husband’s legacy.

Merriman responded by saying the province considers a handful of aspects like service volumes, population, staffing, wait times and the money it takes to operate a machine when deciding where to put one.

He wrote there are no “immediate plans” to expand MRI services to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan.

“I encourage you to work with St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation to determine what alternate needs the hospital may have that can utilize your generous donation,” Merriman said in a letter to Walkom in May 2023.

Administration from the rural municipality of Browning sent a letter to Merriman in August arguing that Estevan is the best place for an MRI scanner in southeast Saskatchewan, stating that without it some communities are closer to services in the U.S.

“We cannot logically understand the decision of the Ministry of Health … [Walkom’s] donation would not only be sufficient to provide the service, but will be in a location of the province in dire need of better MRI services,” the letter said.

There are 12 MRI scanners in Saskatchewan, according to the province. The closest to Estevan are in Regina, located about 185 kilometres away.

From April 2023 to June 2023, the majority of patients waited 246 days or fewer for an MRI scan, according to the province’s website.

Estevan’s mayor said a local MRI machine would be good for the community.

“The more equipment we can get closer to the people that need it for less travelling time and quicker availability for the tests, we look at that as a bonus,” said Ludwig.

He said it would also cut back on travel to Regina for people from Estevan and the surrounding area, and reduce provincial wait times.

Ludwig is still working on changing the province’s mind by seeking the hospital board’s support. He even offered to raise funds to staff the scanner if that was the issue, as according to the health minister’s letter to Walkom, that’s among the province’s concerns.

Estevan’s hospital previously fundraised for a CT scanner in the city and a year’s operation.

Opposition critical

The provincial Opposition spoke about its disappointment with the province at a news conference Tuesday, criticizing the government’s medical staff recruitment plan and execution as a failure.

Matt Love, rural and remote health critic, said he was “baffled” with the government response. Referencing the donation, Opposition leader Carla Beck said “[Premier] Scott Moe should see this for what it is.”

“I’m very curious to hear the explanation from the premier and his ministers as to why they literally can’t get it done when someone is offering to put up their own money to buy the MRI.”