British Columbians wait average of 84 days for MRI: report

B.C. patients wait an average of 84 days after seeing a specialist for an MRI scan under the public health care system — twice as long as Ontarians — a national study says.

Ontarians wait 32 days in comparison while the recommended wait time for the non X-ray diagnostic procedure is no more than a month, says a report released Tuesday by the Canadian Medical Association.

A spokesperson for the B.C. Ministry of Health cautions against comparing wait times from different provinces, which measure their data differently.

B.C. has improved access to surgery and MRI scans in the province have increased more than 60 per cent since 2001, the spokesperson said.

Adrian Dix, the health critic for Opposition New Democrats, said MRIs are being rationed in British Columbia.

"I think it's what people know. The government is effectively rationing MRIs," Dix told CBC News on Tuesday. "They're pushing some people in the system to get so frustrated, they have to pay for [private tests] themselves."

Jared Tarswell of Kelowna said he paid for an MRI privately because he couldn't wait any longer for his injury.

The 21-year-old tore a knee ligament in basketball game more than a year ago and waited 10 months to see a specialist. Then he was told it would take him another four months to get an MRI in the public system.

"The knee is constantly swollen. I use a railing going up steps and everything," Tarswell told CBC News on Tuesday.

Tarswell decided to pay for an MRI but by that time the injury has become permanent because his knee had healed incorrectly, he said.