Philips and Gibraltar Health Authority team up to transform imaging and cardiac care
Royal Philips and the Gibraltar Health Authority (GHA) have signed a 16-year strategic partnership, continuing a long-standing relationship and marking ambitions to advance radiology and cardiology patient care. GHA has embarked on major reforms to its delivery of health services, with a plan to ‘reset, restart and recover’. Changes to the way it operates include a focus on replacement and introduction of diagnostic equipment.
As part of the partnership with Philips, building of a new interventional cardiac suite will commence later this year. Construction and installation of the specialist equipment will take approximately nine to 12 months and will be accompanied by a service agreement to ensure ongoing maintenance of the equipment.
Improved services are expected to bring sustainable benefits for patients at St Bernard’s Hospital, resulting in more cardiac patients receiving local treatment, instead of travelling across the border to Spain. The interventional suite will bring the hospital’s services up to full operating capacity, allowing more patients to receive a range of cardiology treatments such as coronary angiography, angioplasty, catheterisation to treat artery blockages and minimally invasive replacements of heart valves.
Existing Philips systems will be upgraded with the latest technology, including replacement of equipment in two x-ray rooms, a fluoroscopy room for real-time moving x-ray imagery, image intensifiers and ultrasound systems.
Hospital staff will also be able to utilise a CT system that is being installed in year one of the project, alongside an existing CT system. The additional scanner will reduce downtime and delays in diagnostics while creating opportunities for St Bernard’s cardiology and radiology teams to further expand services.
“This new chapter in our partnership with the Gibraltar Health Authority will give both clinicians and the community of Gibraltar access to innovative technologies beyond the next decade,” said managing director for Philips UK and Ireland Mark Leftwich.
Picture: Philips UK and Ireland customer delivery manager Andrew Bannister, GHA clinical director of radiology and consultant radiologist general Chris Rodriguez, Philips managing director Mark Leftwich, GHA finance director Charles Patron, Philips solutions leader Stephen McMillan, GHA director general Patrick Geoghegan and general manager Andrew Bonfante, Philips district leader south-west Jane Robinson and key account manager south-west Paul Ringwald with GHA radiology services manager Monica Mir-Dyer.
Published on page 2 of the April 2023 issue of RAD Magazine.