Blackpool health group invests £1.5m in scanner to speed diagnoses

A private health service provider on the Fylde coast has invested £1.5m to help speed vital treatment.
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Spire Fylde Coast Hospital, in St Walburgas Road, has unveiled a new, state-of-art MRI scanner, which will speed up diagnoses for patients with cancer and other diseases.

The scanner represents a £1.5m investment by Spire Healthcare and will enable up to 21 patients a day to be scanned to detect cancer, cardiac disease and urgent neurological, gynaecological and orthopaedic conditions.

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The scanner will help provide diagnoses for both NHS and private patients, which will alleviate pressure on waiting lists and reduce waiting times for a scan.

Spire Fylde Coast Hospital has a new, state-of-art MRI scanner, which will speed up diagnoses for patients with cancer and other diseases.
The unit had to be craned in with specialist equipmentSpire Fylde Coast Hospital has a new, state-of-art MRI scanner, which will speed up diagnoses for patients with cancer and other diseases.
The unit had to be craned in with specialist equipment
Spire Fylde Coast Hospital has a new, state-of-art MRI scanner, which will speed up diagnoses for patients with cancer and other diseases. The unit had to be craned in with specialist equipment

The new equipment uses the latest technology, which means that it will take less time to complete scans, meaning more patients can be seen for a diagnosis than in the past. It is much wider inside than other scanners, and so is more comfortable for patients.

The scanning service currently operates Monday to Saturday, although it may be extended to Sundays, if there is demand.

The scanner is located in a new unit, which had to be levered into place using a specialist crane. Strict infection control processes were put in place to keep patients and staff COVID-secure during the installation and the teams went to some effort to reduce noise so that the hospital could continue to function normally.

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Tracy Jackson, hospital director at Spire Fylde Coast, said: “Here at Spire Fylde Coast, we are absolutely committed to making sure our patients can have fast access to diagnosis and treatment. Investing in state-of-the-art facilities, like our new scanner, enables us to do this.

Inside the scanner unitInside the scanner unit
Inside the scanner unit

“We are proud to have played an important role in helping to keep a wide range of services, including cancer services, going during the pandemic, when our local NHS Trust needed to focus on treating COVID-positive patients. With our new scanner, we can continue to do this.”

As part of Spire’s contract with NHS England to provide support during the pandemic, the hospital provided cancer and other surgery for NHS patients.

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