Today, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust launched a new mobile CT scanner at Crawley Hospital to help increase capacity for outpatient diagnostic appointments for the local community.
The service, which is being delivered in partnership with Medneo, will operate seven days a week from 7:30am to 8.00pm and see almost 1,000 patients a month.
CT scanners use X-rays, sophisticated multi-receptor technology and ultrafast computing to create detailed images of the inside of the body in a matter of seconds. They are used to detect a range of conditions such as cancers, strokes and heart disease, as well as accurately defining the extent of injury in trauma patients, guiding complex interventions and monitoring the results of a range of treatments.
The new mobile scanner means faster and more convenient access to CT scans for patients who live in Crawley – reducing waiting times across the Trust and ensuring more patients get the vital answers they need to any healthcare concerns sooner.
Dr Tony Newman-Sanders, consultant radiologist and chief of cancer and diagnostics at the Trust said: “We are delighted to have this opportunity to start putting into practice the principles of Community Diagnostic Centres offering responsive high-quality diagnostics where patients can easily access them – reducing waiting times for all our patients and ensuring our hospital imaging facilities are able to respond to the needs of our most acutely unwell patients.”
The new mobile scanner is a vital milestone in the Trust’s wider community diagnostic work in Crawley - which aims to increase local access to a range of tests and checks for those who live in the area, reducing the number of patients who need to travel to and from East Surrey Hospital.