MRI first for Watford

Staff at Watford General Hospital, part of West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, welcome the arrival of a Magnetom Avanto 1.5 Tesla MRI from Siemens Healthcare. Pictured (from left) are MRI superintendent radiographer Afsana Begum, senior radiographer Suzannah Patel, regional sales manager at Siemens Healthcare Andreas Hadjiphanis, senior radiographer Holly Ferrar, superintendent radiographer and MRI project lead Sheila Jones and Siemens MRI engineer Russell Bergman.

The system, the first MRI scanner to be based at the hospital and the second in west Hertfordshire, was officially unveiled in a ribbon cutting ceremony by Jay DeMerit, captain of Watford Football Club with goalkeeper Scott Loach. 

“It is a big step forward for the local community to have an MRI system at Watford,” said radiology services manager Sue Daniels.  “We are aiming to reduce waiting times for scans from six weeks to two weeks, which will help the trust meet its overall target of 18 weeks from referral to treatment.

See this report on page 22 of the July 2010 issue of RAD Magazine.