New diagnostic and imaging technology costing around £2 million has now been installed at The Lister replacing, upgrading and expanding existing facilities. It is the largest investment in new imaging technology at the hospital in the past ten years.
The Hospital's new Siemens 1.25 Tesslar MRI allows faster and much higher definition imaging and is currently enabling a throughput of around 15 patients a day. As more radiographers are recruited and trained, the MRI service will be available beyond its current hours of 8am to 5pm.
Christine Wicks, Clinical Support Services Manager said "This new and state-of-the-art machine is proving a remarkable success. It is faster and a great deal quieter, making it much more patient friendly. We have replaced our old processing unit and installed new computed radiology facilities to allow us to move forward to PACS which will make images available in all consulting rooms, in outpatients and on the wards."
The second major investment is digital mammography with CAD reporting, giving much-enhanced images of abnormalities and the ability to identify location with far greater accuracy. Thirdly the upgrading of x-ray facilities has continued with a new portable x-ray machine, giving greater flexibility for consultants treating patients throughout the hospital. In addition the hospital's ultrasound capability is being enhanced with two new units supporting the expanding musculo-skeletal service provided by dedicated musculo-skeletal radiologists.
But as Christine Wicks says, "Investing in new machines is just part of the story; investing in staff is equally important. We run continuous training programmes to ensure we can give patients, their GPs and consultants, the highest standard of service by making best use of this new technology."
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