Wait times for electroencephalogram's, or more commonly known as an EEG are up to 12 months for non-urgent patients at both Windsor Regional Hospital campuses, according to the acting CEO.
An EEG is a test that measures electrical activity in the brain.
Speaking on AM800's The Morning Drive, Karen Riddell says an EEG detects abnormalities in brain waves and are typically ordered when a patient has a history of seizures, leisions or tumours on the brain, strokes or Alzheimer's.
"Basically shows a graph on a computer screen or a recording, very similar to an EKG, and what that will show is how your brain is reacting to different stimulation or just at rest, so sometimes we'll do different lights or sounds or touch during an EEG to see if we can elicit different brain responses."
Riddell says currently there is a backlog of nearly 1,200 patients.
She says the hospital has run into some recruitment challenges after one of their EEG technicians resigned, leaving only one technician to do tests.
"Thankfully, we have a new technician starting in September, and a third actually that we're just in the process of recruiting. So, although we do have, you know, a long wait time right now for non-urgent EEGs, we do expect that we'll be able to resolve that in the next four to six months with our recruitment."
She says last winter, prior to the tech resigning, the wait time for EEGs was three weeks.
Riddell adds that the hospital has been in contact with area referring physicians to provide them with other options.
"We do have a clinic that's in Chatham that does EEGs, there's one in Blue Water, and then, of course in London. So if you have any concerns, if you're waiting for any EEG right now and wondering where that's at, please do reach out to your referring physician. If there's been any changes with your condition or change in urgency, they can contact us and we can reprioritize."
She says wait times are variable in Chatham and Blue Water and patients should reach out to their physician for more information.