Lymington’s new hi-spec MRI scanner gets ‘craned in’

Great excitement in the early morning at Lymington Hospital as two large red delivery lorries delivered the new Siemens ‘Magnetom’ MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanner to the waiting telescopic crane.

After removing the ceiling cover to the fully refurbished MRI suite, the crane was expertly manoeuvred by a skilled team to gently lift the main magnet skyward and lower it through the roof of the building (see photos).

Fantastic teamwork!

Lance Beatty, Head of Operations, Scheduled Care and Specialist Nursing (Southern Health, South West Division) watched the delicate operation and said:

“This has been a very complex project and credit is due to the installation crew and to the very substantial work put in by the Rydon (the hospital’s building’s contractors) and the radiology team, led by Karen Kritter (our Radiology Operational Manager) to design the new MRI facility and prepare the site for installation. The hospital staff also had to manage a temporary power down to install the new high-capacity electrical cabling.

Over the next 4/6 weeks, the radiology team and specialist contractors will carry out the technical work to commission the MRI equipment on site and prepare the whole facility, ready to open for our patients”.

A great new facility for patients

Laura Rothery, Divisional Director of Operations (Southern Health, South West Division) added:

“The new MRI facility will provide a significantly improved service for patients. Higher quality images aid diagnoses and shorter scanning times and a larger internal ‘bore’ will improve patient comfort. As the facility is brought up to full capacity, the new MRI will enable us to carry out scans for more patients.

We are extremely grateful for the massive contribution towards the amazing ‘Scanner Appeal’ over the last three years from Lymington Hospital Friends (supported by public donations) of £61,300 towards the new Ultrasound Scanner and £575,000 towards the CT Scanner. This has enabled the new MRI to be purchased by Southern Health to complete our advanced diagnostic facilities at Lymington”.    

We are pleased to help and ‘Thank you’ to all our donors

Mike Hodges and Arthur England (Trustees and Joint Chairs of Lymington Hospital Friends) summed up:

“The Friends have worked closely with the hospital to support the ‘Scanner Appeal’ and we are delighted to see the new MRI scanner complete the fantastic range of imaging equipment in the radiology department. We will continue to follow the story of the new equipment and to learn about the improvements to patient care it will deliver.

Thank you to all the people who have donated to the scanning appeal over the last three years and to the donations we continue to receive for our current and future Patient Care projects“. 

Click on the images below to enlarge them.

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