Permanent MRI scanner could be ready in 2023
SHETLAND could have its new permanent MRI scanner installed in 2023.
It comes after a successful community fundraising campaign drew in more than £1.6 million for a scanner.
The update was given to members of the NHS Shetland board this week.
A report from head of estates Lawson Bisset said specifications for a scanner have now been agreed.
“The formal competitive tendering process will commence early in the new year with a projected on-site completion and service delivery date of spring 2023,” he wrote.
MRI scanners can diagnose cancer, strokes, heart conditions and many other conditions and having one in Lerwick would complement the CT scanner, which uses X-rays and a computer to create detailed images of the inside of the body.
At the moment people in Shetland have to travel to Aberdeen for MRI scans, meaning a permanent scanner would result in less hassle for patients and reduced travel costs for the health board.
Over 600 patients from Shetland travel south to have an MRI scan each year.
A temporary MRI scanner, however, was brought to the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick last month to support an enhanced elective care programme to tackle backlogs.
That programme is due to get underway in January after a mobile operating theatre arrived in Lerwick last week.
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