Last month I visited Hexham General Hospital to unveil a plaque to mark the opening of the hospital's state-of-the-art new MRI scanner.
Although the machine has been in operation for more than 18 months now, the opening ceremony was delayed due to the pandemic. The MRI scanner has seen around 300 patients per month for key diagnostic scans, including around 25 cardiac patients per month undergoing specialised scans and 15 arthrograms- high-tech imagine for musculoskeletal conditions.
It is vital that Tynedale's patients are able to access diagnostic scans close to home and quickly so that they can start treatment as soon as possible. Where previously patients would have gone to North Tyneside or other hospitals for diagnosis prior to their elective surgery here, now they are able to do both the diagnosis and the surgery in Hexham.
The new MRI scanner has replaced the previous mobile unit and represents the most recent step in the 15-year + partnership between Northumbria Healthcare and InHealth, which has already seen scanners installed at the Trust's North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Northumbria hospitals.
It was fascinating to be able to tour the new MRI scanner facilities at the Hospital with Northumbria Healthcare and InHealth representatives, who manage the scanner day-to-day. I have always said that I will fight for as many health services as possible to be delivered locally in Tynedale and this is a brilliant facility, which is now available to patients across Tynedale.
