Some 8791 people are currently waiting for an MRI appointment at Mater Dei Hospital, according to information presented in parliament on Tuesday. 

The numbers were supplied by Health Minister Chirs Fearne in reply to a parliamentary question by PN MP Ian Vassallo, who asked how many people are currently on the waiting list for an MRI and when the next available appointment is currently set at. 

Fearne confirmed that there are currently 8791 people waiting for an appointment, with the hospital receiving an average of 895 referrals for MRIs every week, or roughly 127 per day. 

According to similar figures provided by the Minister in October 2022, the waiting list has seen something of an improvement during the last eight months, with a roughly 5% decrease from where it stood at 9,163 people on the waiting list at the time. 

At the time, Fearne said that Mater Dei was carrying out 738 MRIs every week. 

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive medical imaging technique that creates detailed images of the body's organs and tissues, used to diagnose a wide range of conditions. 

In an attempt to cut down waiting lists, Mater Dei also schedules MRI appointments late at night and in the early hours of the morning. 

In 2020, the government purchased a new MRI machine for €3.5 million that was set to increase the hospital's capacity to carry out MRIs to 800 per week. 

In 2019, Times of Malta reported how the European Commission singled Malta out for having lengthy waiting times for hospital appointments, with a study finding that most were waiting an average of 40 weeks for their first outpatient appointment.