Saskatchewan’s only PET/CT scanner offline, leaving patients waiting

Patients across Saskatchewan are stuck waiting after the province’s sole PET scan machine broke down on Dec. 23.

Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scan machines diagnose life-threatening diseases, most commonly cancer.

The PET scanner being down leaves families with little to no options. Erin Neufeld is the daughter of a patient who has lung cancer and was set to receive a scan after already waiting for two months, when he got a phone call on Monday saying the test was cancelled.

“That is irresponsible that there is one PET scan machine for an entire province of people and everyone has to travel to Saskatoon for that one scan.” Neufeld said.

“Every day, longer that we go without his treatment is one day closer to him not being well anymore and that’s unacceptable to me.”

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) says the scanner requires a fluid radioactive tracer which is in short supply due to issues with the provider, something the NDP says is unacceptable.

“This should have been anticipatable on behalf of the government that something like this could happen, because it had happened before and they should have a plan in place, even if it was a plan in place as to how to accommodate people if it broke,” said Keith Jorgenson, Saskatchewan associate health critic.

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The NDP says this isn’t the first time the machine has not been fully operational, saying patients had similar experiences in 2018.

The SHA says the radioactive tracer has a very short shelf life. A temporary supply has been secured from Ontario, allowing them to assume services at half of regular capacity. The SHA say they are prioritizing the most urgent cases and rescheduling remaining patients.

However, that’s little comfort to Neufeld who says she is determined to see her dad get better.

“My dad is doing very well, but every day he doesn’t get to start his treatment puts him at a disadvantage,” she said.

Watch above for more on how the PET scan having issues are affecting families.

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