Pressure on state government to grant MRI machine

FEDERAL Member for O’Connor Rick Wilson has welcomed today’s announcement by Health Minister Greg Hunt that Kalgoorlie Health Campus is to receive an Magnetic Resonance  Imaging machine (MRI) licence.

 

“I’ve been lobbying Minister Hunt on the matter of a full licence for an MRI machine in Goldfields-Esperance region since December 2017 and I’m pleased to see that my efforts over the past seven months have paid off,” Mr Wilson said.

 

“The federal government has delivered on it’s part of the process, the WA Government  now need to keep their part of the bargain and provide Kalgoorlie with an MRI machine to which this licence can be applied.”

 

By granting a full-licence the Kalgoorlie MRI machine will attract a Medicare rebate on all MRI services listed on the Medicare Benefits Scheme.

 

“This means that MRI services will be fully accessible to Goldfields-Esperance residents  people will no longer be subjected to the tyranny of distance  relying on MRI services in Perth or Albany,” Mr Wilson said.

 

Magnetic Resonance  Imaging is a vital component of the health system and assists health care professionals by providing an appropriate initial diagnosis and the ongoing assessment of many medical conditions.

 

The announcement for Kalgoorlie Health Campus follows recommendations from a recent Senate Inquiry into the availability and accessibility of diagnostic imaging equipment around Australia, as the Commonwealth Government is considering options for expanding access to MRI.

 

On August 17, 2017, the Senate referred the matter of the availability and accessibility of

diagnostic imaging equipment around Australia to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report.

 

The Committee tabled its report on March 9, 2018 and made 14 recommendations, including that the Commonwealth Government immediately implement an application process with clear, objective and transparent assessment criteria to permit hospitals and radiology practices to apply for licences for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines.