Instead of repairing the MRI scanner that was damaged in the flood at Surrey Memorial Hospital in November, Fraser Health announced it will buy a new MRI.

The replacement scanner will cost $2 to $3 million and will move into SMH in three or four months, depending on how quickly it can be acquired.

"After a fairly extensive review of the existing unit to determine what the costs would be to repair that unit, it was estimated the costs would be up to $700,000," said Rowena Rizzotti, executive director for Fraser Health. "We determined it was most cost-effective to use those funds toward a new unit and utilize a temporary unit for the interim period of time until we could get that new unit in place."

The Nov. 19 flood of Surrey Memorial Hospital's bottom floor - caused by a water pipe broken during construction - displaced 25 emergency room patients and caused an estimated $3 million in damages. The ER was shut down for two weeks.

Rizzotti added that the MRI that was damaged in the flood was 11 years old and due for replacement this year. SMH has set up a temporary portable MRI from California that Fraser Health is renting for roughly $100,000 per month.

"As of this Monday, we did have the temporary unit up and operational fully and it's basically providing the same service as our former unit," said Rizzotti.

It's unclear whether the insurance will come from Fraser Health or the contractor, but the remaining balance for the MRI will come out of Fraser Health's budget.

Rizzotti also mentioned that Surrey Memorial's new emergency department, which is currently under construction, is scheduled to open on Oct. 1.

"While there will not be a new MRI unit in that department, we will have an additional CT scanner, two general radiology rooms as well as a new ultrasound," she said.