Shropshire Star

New scanner to be unveiled

A new MRI scanner is to be unveiled at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Published

The scanner will be the third at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust and has been paid for thanks to a £1 million fundraising campaign from the League of Friends to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

It will be unveiled by the Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, Sir Algernon Heber-Percy, is to unveil

The League of Friends launched the appeal to mark their 50 th anniversary.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (Sath) has replaced its two existing MRI scanners, at RSH and at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, as part of a £1.7million investment.

A third scanner means more patients can be seen.

The new scanner will be unveiled at a special ceremony at the Shrewsbury hospital on March 22.

Following the ceremony, members of staff and volunteers from the league of friends will get the chance to see the new scanner and the new suite in which it will be housed.

Simon Wright, Chief Executive of The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said the new scanner would bring enormous benefits to patients across the region.

Mr Wright who aided the fundraising effort by climbing four volcanoes in Sicily in six days, said: “We are extremely grateful to the League of Friends and all their sponsors and volunteers for providing Sath with a new, state-of- the-art, MRI Scanner.

“The MRI appeal was launched by the League of Friends to celebrate their 50th anniversary. They have been providing support for patients since 1966. A huge £1 million has been raised and MRI was chosen as it benefits such a wide variety of our patients and their care.”

An MRI scan can be used to examine almost any part of the body, including the brain and spinal cord, bones and joints, breasts, heart and blood vessels, and internal organs, such as the liver, womb or prostate gland.

The results of an MRI scan can be used to help diagnose conditions, plan treatments and assess how effective previous treatment has been.

Mr Wright added: “The addition of this scanner donated by the League of Friend will take SaTH’s MRI fleet up to three machines and gives us the vital capacity we need in order to serve the every growing demand for this wonderful diagnostic facility.

“The scanner will be the flag-ship of the fleet and we will soon be undertaking our first advance MRI cardiac imaging scans. Previously, our patients would have to travel to facilities outside of the county for this diagnostic test.”

The MRI scanner will come into clinical use at the beginning of April and will be immediately running for extended days in order to boost Sath’s radiology department diagnostic services.

Mr Wright added: "I know the Radiology Teams and clinicians are very impressed with the new machine’s capability and the quality of the images they generate.

"Patients will also benefit from a vastly improved scanning experience due to the wider and shorter bore which gives a much greater sense of space when within the scanner. They may also like the addition of a backlit sky and cloud mural on the ceiling above the scanner. On behalf of SaTH, Radiology and our patients, I would like to thank the League of Friends for continuing to support the Trust.”

Ray Smith, chair of the league of friends, said: “We are so grateful to the people of Shropshire and Mid Wales for the unstinting support that they have once again given us for this appeal.

“I know that everyone who has supported our drive for funds will take enormous comfort in the fact that 100 per cent of monies raised have been used for the purchase of the scanner and that there are no administrative expenses. Our fundraising organisation is entirely staffed by very able and willing volunteers.”