From left: Radiography staff Beckie Western, Ben Ward and Kerry Walker in the new CT scanner at Blackpool Victoria Hospital
PATIENTS across the Fylde coast are benefiting from a new temporary mobile computerised tomography (CT) scanner at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
The scanner has been introduced to support outpatient and routine scans and help Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to deliver and support the national faster diagnosis 28 day cancer target for patients.
The facility has been contracted by NHS England to support the Trust during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
It will provide 12-hour cover, seven days a week and could potentially provide around 24 scans a day depending on complexity and longer appointment times to maintain social distancing in line with the Government’s guidance.
Rebecca Bond, Divisional Director of Operations for Clinical Support at the Trust. said: “The temporary scanner will provide a safe and accessible location for our patients and the extra capacity will help us to maintain cancer imaging and at the same time preserve and segregate the capacity on our other main sites to image suspected coronavirus patients.
“We are extremely grateful to NHS England for its support in providing the scanner which will be a huge boost for patients in the area.’’