It will take at least a month to clear up a backlog of specialized medical tests for western Newfoundland patients, officials said as a nuclear medicine department reopens.
The Western Health regional authority cancelled tests for 48 patients through Western Brook Memorial Hospital in Corner Brook after the Chalk River reactor shut down in November.
The supply of medical isotopes has been restored and officials were expecting to resume tests — including bone and heart scans — on Monday.
"It's wonderful," said Mike Brake, a nuclear medicine technologist who has worked at the Corner Brook hospital for three decades.
"This is the first incident [in which] we've had an interruption in service, so it's quite unusual for us, but we're so very happy to be back to normal."
Peter Dawe, executive director of the Canadian Cancer Society's Newfoundland and Labrador branch, said the reopening of the department will reduce anxiety for patients waiting for tests.
"It's very important news for people on the west coast, obviously, because you can't treat [them] — you're absolutely stuck until you get a proper diagnosis," Dawe said.
Western Health has already begun contacting patients to rebook cancelled appointments.
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