Ontario Expanding Access to MRI Services Across the Province

Helping Ontarians Access Diagnostic Screening Faster and Closer to Home

December 12, 2022

As our government is committed to providing Ontarions with better health systems and easy access to services, we are investing additional $20Million to ensure timely access to diagnostic imaging services and reducing wait times across Ontario.

This investment will add a total of 49 new MRI machines to a total of 44 hospitals, as well the annual operational funding required to operate them ensuring people in all regions of Ontario have local access to the health care they need.

Quick Facts

  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive medical imaging technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to take detailed pictures of organs and tissues in the body. MRIs are used to diagnose many health problems, including brain injuries, heart disease and various tumours and cancers.
  • This funding brings the total investment in operational funding for new MRI machines to $40 million, increasing the government’s 2021-22 commitment to invest $30 million by an additional $10 million to help hospitals increase MRI capacity and services. In total, the province is providing operational funding for 49 new MRI machines in 42 hospitals across the province.
  • As part of its Plan to Stay Open: Health System Stability and Recovery, through the Surgical Recovery Strategy, the government is adding more than 150,000 one-time additional operating hours in 2022-23 for hospital-based MRI and CT machines, ensuring better and more equitable access to diagnostic imaging services.
  • The Ontario government is investing over $300 million in 2022-23 as part of the province’s surgical recovery strategy, bringing the total investment to approximately $880 million over the last three fiscal years.

To learn more visit: https://bit.ly/On-mri