Doctors say 'politics' killed $1M MRI gift

Hospital foundations should be concerned by the provincial government's decision to refuse a $1-million donation from Saint John fund-raisers toward an MRI upgrade, says the president of the New Brunswick Medical Society.

The Saint John Hospital Foundation offered to cover additional costs for a more advanced MRI machine in the city.

The government said no to the higher-quality 3-T machine, blaming timing and extra expenses for maintenance. (MRI system magnets are rated using a unit of measure known as a Tesla — the higher the number preceding the T, the greater the unit's strength.)

Dr. Robert Rae said this decision is all about politics and needlessly forces the province's only tertiary trauma centre to practice 1995-style medicine in 2012.

"I think it's simply stating that no one part of the province is going to have anything that the rest of the province can't, despite the fact that the regional hospital is one of the major referral centres for all New Brunswickers," said Rae.

He said the main role of foundations is to raise money for services the province can't fund and having their wishes ignored suggests they aren't able to determine the needs of their own hospitals.

"Where does this leave the foundations of each of the hospitals that are around this province who have gone out, who have worked hard, who have been diligent in getting the members of their community to donate their money to this foundation to do certain things in the hospital?"

The province is going ahead with plans to purchase new 1.5-T machines for hospitals in Saint John, Moncton, Edmundston, Miramichi and Bathurst at a cost of $1.8 million dollars each.

Rae suggested the province doesn't want to appear to be playing favourites by giving Saint John better technology.

He said the 3-T machine would only be of benefit to the Saint John Regional and the Moncton Hospital.