Publish date: 12 August 2022
A new MRI scanner has been delivered to a Cheshire hospital ready for the opening of it Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC).
The scanner, a Siemens Solar 1.5 Tesla, adds to the portfolio of scanners at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and has been craned into place at Ellesmere Port Hospital.
The machine, weighing more than 3,800kg, will be used within the CDC which will speed up diagnosis for people in the area, including for suspected cancer.
Jayne Beedles, Team Leader – MRI at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is going to make a huge difference having the scanner over here at Ellesmere Port at The Hub for us because it is going to give us a lot of extra capacity for patients, along with the technology of the new scanner, there’s faster scanning times. So hopefully the throughput is going to increase. We’re really hopeful for the future.”
It will be the latest CDC to open in Cheshire and Merseyside after another began operating last month in Northwich.
The CDC at Victoria Infirmary managed by the Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, added to five Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) already working across Cheshire and Merseyside. Three more will open in the next 12 months, including the one at Ellesmere Port.
CMCA has been involved in organising the opening of the CDCs, with Dr Liz Bishop, our Senior Responsible Officer, leading the delivery of them across the sub-region in her role heading the diagnostics workstream in the Cheshire & Merseyside Acute and Specialist Provider Collaborative (CMAST).
You can watch a video of the scanner arriving here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az_qUyC781U