NL Health Services says while wait times vary throughout the province, the average wait time to get an MRI ranges from an estimated 17 weeks to more than a year (427 days).

The median wait time for an MRI scan in Canada in 2022 was 10.6 weeks according to the Canadian Journal of Health Technologies.

VOCM News has been contacted by some patients who recently received notification for their MRI appointments, some of which aren’t scheduled until 2026.

NL Health Services says there are five MRI scanners in the province, and an additional MRI at the new Western Memorial Regional Hospital is expected to be up and running once the hospital opens sometime this spring.

MRI appointments are prioritized as urgent, non-urgent and emergent based on clinical standards.

The health authority has added weekend MRI services as needed to meet wait time targets, and when slots open in the appointment schedule, non-urgent patients are often called to fill the space.