News / Fundraising appeal to launch for MRI scanner
A CAMPAIGN to raise £2 million to buy an MRI scanner for Shetland is set to kick off this week.
NHS Shetland estimates that around 700 people a year would be saved a trip to the Scottish mainland for a scan if there was machine in Shetland.
A fundraising campaign is due to launch on Thursday when more details will be revealed.
The health board has agreed to fund the running of the machine, but it needs help from the public for the cost of its purchase.
MRI – or magnetic resonance imaging – uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of inside the body, and it is often used for examinations of the brain.
Shetland’s generous public helped the health board to secure a CT scanner back in 2007, and the new campaign looks to follow in its footsteps.
NHS Shetland chief executive Ralph Roberts said: “This is something that is going to be voluntarily funded. It’s a bit like the CT scanner was. The commitment from the NHS is that we commit the funds to run the scanner in the future.
“It’ll be about £2 million. That would get us an MRI scanner in a free standing unit that we would put outside the Gilbert Bain.”
Having more patients treated locally instead of paying for travel off-island is a large part of NHS Shetland’s drive to cut costs while maintaining its service.
The health board aims to find total efficiency savings of around £9.3 million over the next five years in light of rising costs.
Meanwhile, around £4,000 was raised for NHS Shetland’s endowment fund at a family fun day at Lerwick’s Gilbertson Park on Sunday in celebration of the NHS’ 70th anniversary.
The endowment fund is a charity which helps to provide extra services for the health board, such as new equipment and amenities.
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