New Forest sees a royal opening for MRI scanner

Toshiba project manager June Forrester with senior field service engineer Chris Cook, Lymington New Forest Hospital lead CT/MRI superintendent radiographer Nicole Hofman, hospital MRI manager Andrew Purves and Toshiba account executive Angela Nightingale.

The Princess Royal opened a Toshiba Excelart Vantage XGV Atlas MRI suite at Lymington New Forest Hospital.  The system, which will provide MRI scanning to community patients in the whole of Hampshire, is housed in a new extension at the rear of the hospital.

The opening was also attended by Mr Chikao Kamijima, president and ceo of Toshiba Medical Systems Europe.

The scanner, purchased by the League of Friends of Lymington New Forest Hospital, will provide an MRI service for patients from the Lymington, New Forest and West Hampshire areas.  It will help patients get treated within the 18 week targets for both scheduled and unscheduled care and also save travelling to other hospitals outside the New Forest.

Chairman Clifford Jakes said: “The League of Friends was delighted to finance the purchase of the MRI scanner, which means we will be able to have the scanner installed before it was originally intended.” 

“The system, which replaces a mobile MRI unit, will provide mainly orthopaedic work,” commented clinical services manager Vicky White.

See the full report on page 26 of the October 2010 issue of RAD Magazine.