Associations say Northern Manitoba mobile MRI unit grounded in Thompson and struggling to keep staff

A mobile MRI unit intended to serve patients in two northern Manitoba communities has been parked in Thompson and is struggling to retain staff, according to two unions representing technologists in the province.

provincial government Mobile MRI unit launched in Thompson last June, with plans to swing it between that northern city and The Pas — about 300 kilometers to the southwest — later in 2025.

Dayna McTaggart, provincial manager for the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists Manitoba, works as a medical radiological technologist at The Pas.

McTaggart said the mobile unit has not yet visited his town of about 6,000, leaving patients to rely on MRI facilities in Thompson or Dauphin, about 300 kilometers away.

He said some patients are choosing to travel to Brandon, 450 kilometers away, for MRI scans. Often used for diagnosis, detection and treatment monitoring of diseases, including cancer.

“Until the machine is actually deployed nearby, members of our community and the surrounding area will not notice any significant difference,” he said.

“We have not received any indication of a concrete date. And from what I can see around the health facility, there has been no initiation of making sure the space is ready for the equipment when it arrives,” she said.

A spokesperson for Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the government is still working to expand mobile MRI services in The Pas.

It took longer than expected because only one bid was received for the project to add mobile units, which exceeded the approved budget, the spokesperson said. This has forced the province to file a second request for proposal process.

60% vacancy rate: union leader

Jason Linklater, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, said the unit has struggled to recruit and retain staff in the nearly nine months since its launch.

The union president said the facility has a 60 percent vacancy rate, with only two staff members — one working full-time and the other working part-time. Many staff members have resigned since June, he said.

“As the staffing situation gets worse, your ability to retain people gets worse,” he said.

An Asagawa spokesperson confirmed that the facility has one full-time MRI technologist and one part-time technologist. Another full-time technologist has been hired, who is expected to start after completing training later this spring, the spokeswoman said.

Linklater said union members who work north of the 53rd parallel should receive higher wages through 15 percent difference.

According to Linklater, employees who work at mobile MRI but live in southern Manitoba are not getting paid as much. He said that some former employees have resigned due to not getting incentives.

Linklater said, “That’s exactly why there’s a northern gap. But they won’t extend it from the south to MRI technology to fill those positions in mobile MRI.”

“They need to use the incentives that are there. That will probably be enough to keep at least some of the people there that they currently have, and hopefully enough to attract another position at Northern MRI,” he said.

Shared Health, which operates the mobile MRI unit, says work is ongoing to ensure stable staffing levels at the facility. The provincial health agency is exploring a number of options, including “pay increases,” it said in a statement.

Technologist McTaggart said working on a mobile service can also create a level of uncertainty for employees, who may not know how long they will be deployed away from home.

Wait times reduced on mobile MRI units

Despite being parked in Thompson, McTaggart suggests the mobile unit still increased access to MRI services in the North.

According to provincial wait time dataIn 2025, the average wait time for an MRI scan in health-care facilities across the province was 26 weeks. Last year, the average wait time on the mobile unit was four weeks – the shortest of any facility in the province.

“I think if you live in the north and are willing to go to Thompson for an MRI, you can get access to those scans quicker than anywhere else in the province,” McTaggart said.

The province said the mobile unit has completed more than 1,500 MRI scans since June.