Greater Manchester hospital doubles permanent MRI capacity with installation of bespoke suite

Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust has collaborated with its partner of 20 years, Canon Medical Systems UK, to expand its in-house MRI capacity. Utilising last-minute funding awarded to Greater Manchester by the NHS, the hospital worked with Canon Medical to design a bespoke MRI suite that will serve as a permanent solution for the hospital.

The unit has waiting and changing rooms and houses a Vantage Orian MRI system, the second MRI scanner for the hospital. Replacing a separate mobile unit in the car park, the new unit allows clinical staff to serve inpatients, as well as emergency and outpatients, in the main hospital, which had previously not been possible.

Tameside Hospital cross-sectional (CT/MRI) service lead radiographer Jennifer Riley said: “This wasn’t just a case of procuring MRI equipment to meet increasing demand. Careful consideration needed to be given to where the new system would be housed to meet the needs of both our inpatients and outpatients. Working with Canon Medical, we needed a permanent solution to increase MRI capacity within a very tight time frame to meet the requirements of our funding.

“Ensuring accessibility and a positive patient experience, both during and post installation, was crucial. The new suite needed to feel like part of the existing site without changing the fabric of the building.”

Canon Medical has already provided the trust with diagnostic imaging solutions including two ultrasound systems, an Ultimax-i multi-purpose fluoroscopy room and three Aquilion Prime SP CT scanners.

Picture: The team at Tameside Hospital with Canon Medical account manager Colin Murray (right).

Published on page 5 of the July 2024 issue of RAD Magazine.