An MRI scanner is to be installed at St Vincent De Paul Residence and another is being procured for Gozo General Hospital, leading to a significant reduction in the waiting list for scans, Health and Elderly Minister Jo Etienne Abela said on Wednesday.
He said the new €2million machine for the government’s largest home for the elderly would be funded by the National Social Development and Social Fund.
The announcement came days after a parliamentary question revealed that over 15,750 people are waiting for an MRI scan, double the number who were on the waiting list six months ago.
Back in June 2023, 8,791 people were waiting for an MRI.
In October of 2022, there were 9,163 people on the waiting list, with 738 MRIs carried out every week.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive medical imaging technique that creates detailed images of the body’s organs and tissues, used to diagnose a wide range of conditions.
When asked why the waiting list doubled in the past six months, Abela said that as the population of the Maltese Islands grew, the three MRI scanners at Mater Dei were having to be used “around the clock, seven days a week”.
Apart from the three scanners at Mater Dei, Abela said the government also outsourced MRI services to the private sector.
“We will be putting the MRI scanners to good use, and as I said the one here (St Vincent De Paul) will focus on treating and diagnosing older persons, but that will reduce the waiting list significantly,” Abela said.
The government is also in the process of purchasing an MRI scanner for Gozo General Hospital, with the hope of reducing the need for Gozitans to have to travel to Malta for a scan.
When asked for a tentative date for the new MRI scanner in Gozo, Abela said the tendering process had been concluded, and the bidder had been chosen.
In the meantime, the service will be provided in Gozo with a portable MRI machine.
In 2019, Times of Malta reported how the European Commission singled out Malta for having lengthy waiting times for hospital appointments, with a study finding that most were waiting an average of 40 weeks for their first appointment.