Morris and Ella Eagles were introduced in the Saskatchewan Legislature today (Tues) and the Official Opposition told their story. Ella Eagles needed a PET scan for a possible cancer diagnosis and was scheduled to have one in September, but NDP Leader Carla Beck explained that the PET Scan machine was closed for weeks and there is only one in the province at Royal University Hospital. The serum needed for the scan is produced by USask’s cyclotron, but it was out of service.

Beck adds that the Eagles asked if they could travel to Calgary for the scan but were told the Saskatchewan government wouldn’t cover it. As well, Beck says, both Calgary and Edmonton have facilities that produce the special serum needed for the PET scans, but the government didn’t purchase any and instead let the waiting list for diagnostics grow longer.

Health Minister Everett Hindley apologized to the Eagles during Question Period and said he takes the issue seriously. Now that the cyclotron where the isotopes are produced is fixed so they can make the serum again, Hindley says it has been doing additional production cycles to catch up with the diagnostic wait times.