Horizon Health Network says significant improvements have been made to CT scan access and wait times for emergency patients at The Moncton Hospital.

The health authority says it launched an improvement project involving multiple departments to accelerate the transfer process between emergency and medical imaging.

Data from the initial two-week pilot project in March yielded positive results, including increasing CT scans performed (from 130 to 178), and decreasing CT scan cycle time (from 2.3 hours to 1.5 hours).

“Increasing capacity and improving access for patients aligns with our critical action plan of providing access to safe and quality services,” said Margaret Melanson, Horizon’s interim President and CEO.

“We are consistently looking for and implementing innovative solutions to enhance overall patient care, and I’m very encouraged that these improvements will continue as we further expand this service to our patients.”

A CT scan combines a series of X-ray views taken from many different angles to produce cross-sectional images of the bones and soft tissues inside your body.

CT scans can help detect certain types of cancer, heart disease, blood clots, brain and spinal cord diseases or injuries, and internal bleeding, among other conditions.