It will be near the end of the month before Whitehorse General Hospital will begin offering CT contrast scans again.

Hospital spokeswoman Val Pike said Monday the contrast scans, where a dye is injected to allow for better visibility in some scans such as cancer diagnoses, haven't been done since Jan. 29, when the contrast technician took a leave. Pike could not say how long the technician is on leave for.

'We're still doing non-contrast scans,' she said.

Those scans would be done in cases like trauma, Pike explained.

Physicians in the territory were informed of the situation and told that if they have patients requiring a contrast scan they would have to be sent Outside.

As Pike pointed out though, the wait times for the scans Outside are often longer than they are in the Yukon.

One of the hospital's x-ray technicians is currently on-course to learn how to do the contrast scans and will return on Feb. 19. After that, some contrast scans will be offered, though it likely won't be to the full extent that they were.

So far, 45 patients have been impacted by the situation. Pike did not have numbers on how many patients have been sent Outside for the service.

'It does have a huge impact,' Rao Tadepalli, president of the Yukon Medical Association, told the Star Monday.

He pointed out it wasn't so long ago that the territory didn't have a CT machine, and that it's been a significant benefit for Yukoners.

Without the contrast scans, it's cancer patients who are most affected, and local physicians who must now make arrangements for their patients, he said.

'It goes back to the general practitioner,' Tadepalli said.

As he pointed out though, it's not only the CT scans that have been the subject of turmoil in the radiology department at the hospital.

Staff seem to come and go, with three positions empty in the radiology department, creating long waiting lists for ultrasounds and other procedures in the department.

'This is going to be an ongoing problem,' Tadepalli said, adding that it's a reflection of the national trend in the shortage of health care workers.

'It's just Band-aid service,' he said.

While the x-ray technician will be back and trained to do some contrast scans before the 2007 Canada Winter Games begin, Tadepalli noted, there is still a concern for the service during the two-week period.

Whitehorse General Hospital is critical to the Yukon's health care, Tadepalli stressed. If the hospital isn't functioning well, the entire territory is affected, he noted.

The situation for services at the hospital continues to be a source of frustration for the medical association, he said.