The magnet and gantry for Pembrokeshire's new £1.3m MRI scanner has arrived at Withybush Hospital. The seven-tonne unit was craned over the top of Withybush Hospital's A&E department by a 200- tonne crane early on Saturday morning. Installation of the scanner in a custom-designed building adjacent to the radiology department will begin this week. The new state-of-the-art scanner will provide more advanced diagnostic services to Pembrokeshire patients, replacing services currently provided at Werndale Hospital in Bancyfelin. Said consultant radiologist and lead clinician Dr. Mark Owens, of Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust: "This new MRI scanner is a huge investment in healthcare locally and will provide Pembrokeshire people with cutting edge diagnostic technology and the ability to see more patients locally. "This will further reduce waiting times at a time of greatly increased demand for cancer screening and musculo-skeletal scans due to better diagnostic capabilities of this equipment. "The location of the scanner at Withybush Hospital will also eliminate the need for patients to travel outside of Pembrokeshire for scans, who previously faced a 46-mile round-trip outside of the county, often by ambulance and often under medical supervision. "In addition, the new MRI scanner will also facilitate the recruitment of highly-qualified consultant radiologists seeking MRI experience which is a medical speciality in which consultants are in short supply nationally."
