A new MRI Suite, which is currently being constructed at Conquest Hospital, has arrived on site in seventeen separate modules, which were joined together in a specific sequence to form the new MRI Suite building.
The modular building arrived from Hull in a specific order, and set to a precise timetable over a three day period. Once on site, each module, some weighting over 26 tons, was craned off a lorry into position in a specific sequence to form the new MRI Suite on the western side of the Conquest Hospital.
modules being craned into position
Chris Hodgson, Director of Estates and Facilities said: “This is a very exciting period in the development of our new MRI Suite. Over the space of three days the site went from just having concrete footings to what appears, on the outside, to be an almost completed building. The 17 separate modules have been constructed in a warehouse in Hull and travelled down to the hospital to be assembled together on site. There is still a lot of work to be undertaken internally, including the arrival and commissioning of the two MRI scanners before the new development becomes operational in late spring or early summer 2019.”
Once complete this 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. 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 to facilities outside of the area.
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Harris, Consultant Radiologist and Clinical Lead for Radiology said: “Our existing MRI scanner is over 14 years old, is outdated and unsuitable for many of our patients.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.”