A Sod cutting ceremony, to mark the start of construction of a new MRI Scanner Suite at Conquest Hospital was performed by Sara Stoner, Vice Chair Friends of Conquest Hospital MRI Scanner Appeal and Peter Mitchell-Davis Vice President of the League of Friends of Bexhill Hospital.
The ceremony was preceded over by David Clayton-Smith, Chairman East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust with invited guests present. The new multi-million pound development will provide patients with a state-of-the-art facility with spacious changing and waiting areas. Two wide bore Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners; one kindly funded by the Friends of Conquest Hospital MRI Scanner Appeal and the other funded by the League of Friends of Bexhill Hospital, will allow the Trust to meet the increasing demand for Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the local population.
Dr Justin Harris, Consultant Radiologist, Sara Stoner, Vice Chair Friends of Conquest Hospital MRI Scanner Appeal, Peter Mitchell-Davis Vice President of the League of Friends of Bexhill Hospital and David Clayton-Smith, Chairman East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.
The suite will provide a safe and custom built environment to manage both complex conditions and those patients requiring general anaesthesia. The new machines will greatly improve imaging quality and allow more technically advanced scans, not currently provided within the Trust, helping to reduce the need for patients to travel.
David Clayton-Smith, Chairman East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said: “I am delighted Sara and Peter were able to perform this sod cutting ceremony to mark the start of construction of our new MRI Scanner Suite. This is a significant investment for the Trust. This ceremony is an opportunity to thank our two major contributors as well as those who have made significant individual donations. This development, once complete next year, will make a huge difference for our patients and clinicians.”
Dr Justin Harris, Consultant Radiologist and Clinical Lead for Radiology said: “Our existing MRI scanner is over 14 years old, is outdated and unsuitable for many of our patients. The new MRI scanner suite provides a custom built facility with two state of the art scanners. The suite will provide high quality imaging to the local population, meeting the increasing demand for complex MRI including cardiac, prostate and small bowel imaging. Patients suffering from claustrophobia will benefit from the scanners wide bore access and the use of audio-visual aids to reduce the need for sedation or general anaesthetic. Technology has moved on enormously since the existing scanner was purchased in 2004. Today’s improved imaging quality now enables much more effective diagnosis, analysis and subsequent treatment of pathologies such as stroke and many types of cancer.”
The new MRI scanner suite, on the western side of Conquest Hospital, is expected to operational in late spring/early summer 2019.