Strictly Come Dancing star Joanne Clifton today opened our new £8m Grimsby MRI suite.
The state-of-the-art facility has doubled our scanning capacity at the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital.
This will help our specialist clinicians to see you more quickly, diagnose conditions and get you the treatment you need.
Contractors Hobson Porter handed the building back to us in late April to allow training on the new equipment to begin and we have already welcomed our first patients.
Chief Executive, Peter Reading said: “I am delighted that our new MRI suite is now complete and we’re able to offer a vastly improved service to our communities.
“Our previous scanner was 15 years old and we often had to bring in a mobile scanner to site to help to meet demand.
I am delighted that our new MRI suite is now complete and we’re able to offer a vastly improved service to our communities.
Peter Reading, Chief Executive of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust
“With these two new Phillips scanners permanently on site we will be able to see you more quickly, reduce waiting times and get you the diagnosis you need to be able to start treatment.
“We know how important it is for you to be treated close to home wherever possible, so I’m particularly pleased that this facility will allow us to perform a far wider range of specialist scans, allowing us to treat people locally who would previously have had to travel in order to access these services.”
Benefits of Grimsby MRI
The new Grimsby MRI suite has separate areas for outpatients attending hospital for appointments and those who have been admitted for treatment.
And, thanks to the generosity of local people, it will also have specialist visual equipment to help put children and those who are anxious or nervous at their ease.
Chairman of the Trust Board, Terry Moran, added: “We’re incredibly grateful to the Health Tree Foundation (HTF)* and all those who donated towards their IMAGE (Improving MRI at Grimsby for Everyone) appeal.
“The £55,000 raised has been used to install equipment which will allow patients to personalise their MRI experience and make them feel as comfortable as possible.
“Some of our very anxious or claustrophobic patients have struggled in the past to complete their scans and in some extreme cases, have needed a general anaesthetic.
“This technology allows you to choose a video that will be projected above you during the scan – such as a beach, rainforest or desert – to help give you a focus and to relax during the examination.
“The money has also enabled us to install mood lighting in the room and, again, it’s you who chooses the colour, which also helps put you at your ease.
“It may sound like a small thing but it can make a huge difference to how comfortable you feel.”
Charity donation
HTF Charity Manager Clare Woodard said: “Our aim is to ensure that when you come into our hospitals you come into a comfortable and welcoming environment and that the best equipment is available.
“We work closely with our clinical teams to ensure that your donations are used effectively and in a way which will make a real difference to patients.
“The support you have given to our IMAGE appeal has helped us to purchase equipment that will make a huge difference to the experience patients will have when undergoing treatment and I can’t thank you enough. Without your generosity and continued support for the Health Tree Foundation, none of this would be possible.”
Construction of the new facility has taken 14 months, with work getting underway in February last year.
However, the construction was the final stage of a complex programme of work, which has been months in the planning. You can find out more about the development of the programme here.
* The Health Tree Foundation is the official charity of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.
