RHCH set to unveil new MRI and CT scanners after previous units destroyed in 2011 fire (From Andover Advertiser)
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RHCH set to unveil new MRI and CT scanners after previous units destroyed in 2011 fire
10:00am Friday 8th March 2013 in Winchester
The damaged MRI unit days after the blaze at Royal Hampshire County Hospital
THEY were at the centre of one of the biggest fires to hit Winchester in years.
But now Royal Hampshire County Hospital has replaced the MRI and CT scanners destroyed in the blaze just over a year ago.
The new hi-tech equipment is set to open for patients on Tuesday within a new-and-improved unit, completely restored since it was reduced to rubble.
It is not officially confirmed yet but staff believe the unit will be up and ready by Tuesday.
Dr Julian Elford, lead consultant radiologist, said: “Our new CT scanner is fantastic. The things that this can do will increase what we as a hospital can do. It’s one of only a few in the South of England and uses a very low dose of radiation that you would normally find in an X-ray machine.
“Our whole unit was good before but we think it’s better now. It’s not possible to overstate how good this equipment is. It is as good as it gets across the country.”
The fire in December 2011 started accidentally in the roof, but the investigation was delayed for weeks because the giant magnet inside the MRI scanner could not be switched off.
But precautions have been taken to ensure that cannot happen again using with fireproof cabling.
