CORNER BROOK, N.L. — Premier Andrew Furey is giving a “full commitment” to a PET scanner for the new hospital in Corner Brook, but it may take time.
On Jan. 14, Health Minister Dr. John Haggie and Corner Brook MHA Gerry Byrne announced $2 million had been earmarked for a new PET scanner at the new hospital in Corner Brook.
The announcement came a day before Furey called a provincial election for Feb. 13.
It also followed an outcry from people on the west coast of the province after it was revealed that the PET scanner — publicly promised by former premier Dwight Ball while he was leader of the Opposition in 2014 — would not be in the hospital when it opened.
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Haggie had said there would a room for it if it was determined later that it was needed. Meanwhile, Byrne had said the machine would be there, but it would take time for it to be put in place as the facility undergoes commission and accreditation.
During a news conference outside the Western Long Term Care Home in Corner Brook, Furey stressed nothing changed in how the government is approaching the matter.
“Nothing really changed, we just built on the commitment and made it stronger,” he said. “There’s space there, there’s money there, and there’s a more fulsome commitment than perhaps was there before.”
Furey could not provide a timeframe for the PET scanner’s installation, but Dr. Ed Mercer, Western Health's regional chief of medical imaging, confirmed it would not be immediate.
"Our MRI service is as good as anywhere in the country and in the world. I want to do the same for PET scan." — Dr. Ed Mercer, Western Health
“To have it operationalized the very first day we move in here, that’s unrealistic,” Mercer told reporters Monday. “Everyone wants to know when, but it’s going to take some time to get the pieces together.”
Mercer said Western Health, as well as staff, will need to address numerous logistical concerns regarding PET imaging for the west coast.
“There’s a number of things we have to look at, a number of things we have to do. We have to do it right,” he said. “I want a service that’s going to be state of the art. I want to emulate what we did with MRI. Our MRI service is as good as anywhere in the country and in the world. I want to do the same for PET scan. We all want to do the same for PET scan.”
Furey said once Western Health makes a decision on which PET scanner they want, the province will work with the board to put a down payment on a PET scanner so they won’t wait in line with other institutions once one is available.
Last week, the Progressive Conservatives issued a news release to say a PC government will follow through where the Liberals failed, and deliver a PET scanner to the Corner Brook regional hospital.
The hospital is expected to open in 2023.
Stephen Roberts is a reporter covering the west coast of Newfoundland.
— With files from Diane Crocker
