The Ottawa Hospital will soon get a fourth MRI machine to help drop wait times for tests needed to diagnose some illnesses.
The new machine, which Premier Dalton McGuinty announced on Tuesday, is expected to operate 40 hours per week, providing 3,120 scans each year.
Hospital officials say it will give patients more timely access to the care they need.
The hospital also got a new MRI machine in 2009. That machine has already helped reduce wait times at the hospital.
"These investments have helped reduce MRI wait times at the Ottawa Hospital by 62 per cent since 2005," McGuinty told reporters at Tuesday's announcement.
The push for the new MRI machine was headed by the Champlain Local Health Integration Network. The chair if the Champlain LHIN says it will provide a valuable boost to the region's medical resources.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Norman Fetterley
