Mobile X-ray program coming to P.E.I. long-term care homes next month
CBC
The P.E.I. government is launching a new mobile X-ray program in May, allowing residents in both public and private long-term care facilities to receive some types of diagnostic scans without leaving their homes.
Minister of Health and Wellness Mark McLane said the new unit is expected to reduce ambulance wait times and improve care for seniors.
Last year, Island EMS transferred more than 1,000 patients for diagnostic imaging, he said.
"They've taken up a lot of time in order to pick up a resident and take that resident to the hospital for an X-ray," McLane told reporters Wednesday.
He said that while offering a better experience for the patient by providing care in familiar settings, the new service will eliminate many round trips for ambulances and relatives alike, taking patients between care homes and hospitals.
"By reducing hospital visits, we improve patient comfort, lower stress and ease the burden of our hospital system," he said at the legislature.
Some residents will still need to visit a hospital, though.
For now, the mobile service will be limited to chest X-rays, used to diagnose things like pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cracked ribs. More imaging options will be added in the coming months, McLane said.
Edna MacInnis received the first mobile X-ray last month at Whisperwood Villa Seniors Home in Charlottetown.
"I was very surprised that they took the machine in, and I was the first one on the Island to have this done," she told CBC News. "I was really shocked. I couldn't believe it… to have a machine to come in a place like this, and you don't have to go to hospital or anything like that to have it done.
"It's easy on my family. They don't have to take me here and there."
She hopes more Islanders can benefit from the convenience and comfort of the mobile service.
"And all seniors out there, I hope they have the same experience that I did," she said.
Nadine Hooper Thompson, a medical radiation technologist involved in the project, agrees the new service is helpful for seniors, especially those with dementia.
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