P.E.I. works to reduce mammography wait times

Women on P.E.I. are still waiting up to a year for routine mammogram screening.

Wait times for mammography have been a recurring problem on the Island for years, largely because of a shortage of radiologists. There are currently five on the Island, but only two are trained to read mammograms. Those two are often called upon to read other diagnostic tests as well, such as MRIs and ultrasounds.

Demand has also increased for mammograms. National guidelines suggest women between the ages of 50 and 69 should be tested, but most provinces, including P.E.I., have broader guidelines, suggesting women as young as 40 and up to age 75 be screened.

"That had a big impact on the wait times, when you bring in that age group with no more resources in place," Nora Smith, who is with the mammography unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, told CBC News Wednesday.

Visiting doctor to work on backlog

In the past, when wait times grew excessively long, the province has brought in outside radiologists to read through the backlog of mammograms, and it is employing that solution again this week.

A doctor coming in from Ontario is expected to read about 600 tests from the QEH and about 200 more from the Prince County Hospital. Those mammograms will all be read by Saturday.

But this is only a stopgap solution. Smith said the province needs to hire four or five more radiologists. The province has hired more staff to operate the mammography clinic for this fall, and at that time it will be open 12 hours a day from Monday to Thursday and on Saturday.

The province is also hoping two new digital mammography units at QEH will help in getting the tests read. These will allow the province to participate in teleradiology, sending electronic files off Island to be read when there is a backlog, which will be more convenient and quicker than bringing a doctor to the Island for a few days.

Smith said it will likely be December or January before Islanders will see wait times decrease.

Smith emphasized the waits are for routine screening. Waits for emergency mammograms, such as when a lump is found, are much shorter.