Mobile X-ray program coming to P.E.I. long-term care homes next month

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 1:18 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

The P.E.I. authorities is launching a caller mobile X-ray programme successful May, allowing residents successful some nationalist and backstage semipermanent attraction facilities to person immoderate types of diagnostic scans without leaving their homes.

Minister of Health and Wellness Mark McLane said the caller portion is expected to trim ambulance hold times and amended attraction for seniors.

Last year, Island EMS transferred much than 1,000 patients for diagnostic imaging, helium said.

"They've taken up a batch of clip successful bid to prime up a nonmigratory and instrumentality that nonmigratory to the infirmary for an X-ray," McLane told reporters Wednesday.

He said that portion offering a amended acquisition for the diligent by providing attraction successful acquainted settings, the caller work volition destruct galore circular trips for ambulances and relatives alike, taking patients betwixt attraction homes and hospitals. 

"By reducing infirmary visits, we amended diligent comfort, little accent and easiness the load of our infirmary system," helium said astatine the legislature.

Some residents volition inactive request to sojourn a hospital, though.

For now, the mobile work volition beryllium constricted to thorax X-rays, utilized to diagnose things similar pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cracked ribs. More imaging options volition beryllium added successful the coming months, McLane said.

First mobile X-ray

Edna MacInnis received the archetypal mobile X-ray past period astatine Whisperwood Villa Seniors Home successful Charlottetown.

"I was precise amazed that they took the instrumentality in, and I was the archetypal 1 connected the Island to person this done," she told CBC News. "I was truly shocked. I couldn't judge it… to person a instrumentality to travel successful a spot similar this, and you don't person to spell to infirmary oregon thing similar that to person it done.

"It's casual connected my family. They don't person to instrumentality maine present and there."

She hopes much Islanders tin payment from the convenience and comfortableness of the mobile service.

"And each seniors retired there, I anticipation they person the aforesaid acquisition that I did," she said.

Nadine Hooper Thompson, a aesculapian radiation technologist progressive successful the project, agrees the caller work is adjuvant for seniors, particularly those with dementia.

"It's precise disruptive for them to travel retired of their home, and it tin instrumentality days aft to benignant of get them re-acclimatized, truthful it's overmuch easier connected them," Hooper Thompson said.

She described the mobile portion arsenic a compact setup that includes a laptop, an X-ray detector, and an X-ray tube.

The detector is placed down the resident's back, and erstwhile the representation is taken with the mobile unit, it appears instantly connected the laptop screen.

Hooper Thompson said the full process typically takes conscionable 5 to 10 minutes, with astir of the clip spent connected cautiously positioning the resident.

'A small spot dilatory to get going'

Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly welcomed the inaugural but pointed retired it stems from a national statement signed backmost successful 2023.

The program to amended entree to diagnostic imaging was portion of a $94-million wellness attraction statement signed with the national authorities successful December 2023. That statement outlined several priorities that the state volition request to implement by 2026, including improving entree to diagnostic services and reducing hold times.

In March 2024, officials announced much details astir however portion of that $94 cardinal would beryllium spent connected measures to assistance Islanders property with dignity, including the constitution of a mobile X-ray unit.

"And present we are the adjacent year, it's conscionable getting started, truthful though a small spot dilatory to get going, I deliberation this is simply a large program," McNeilly said successful the legislature.

Green Party MLA Matt MacFarlane besides voiced support.

"Anything that tin marque lives easier for residents of semipermanent attraction facilities, by having the work travel to them and minimize transportation and imaginable for wounded and disruption, is simply a bully thing," MacFarlane said.

"Hopefully, determination volition beryllium nary issues successful the scans, the X-ray results getting into the close files of the patients. [We] privation to marque definite that the continuity of the record is there, if those patients are fortunate capable to really person a primary-care supplier for the files and the X-ray results to get into."