Ipswich patients who need life-saving scans will be able to get them more rapidly after Ipswich Hospital took delivery of a MRI machine which is expected to be available to patients by the end of the year.
The MRI machine arrived at Ipswich Hospital’s new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Suite arrived early on Saturday morning.
The MRI magnet, measuring 2.4m by 2.1m and weighing 7 tonnes, was craned into position within Ipswich Hospital’s Medical Imaging Department.
West Moreton Health Chief Executive Dr Kerrie Freeman said it was a great day for our growing community.
“Its arrival is an exciting milestone in West Moreton Health’s Master Plan to meet the health care needs of the rapidly growing population,” Dr Freeman said.
“The MRI machine should be scanning its first patients by the end of the year.”
Ipswich residents will soon be able to access lifesaving scans for cancer, stroke, heart and other medical conditions.
The machine is expected to benefit Ipswich residents through a Medicare rebate and provide an estimated 3719 services a year.
Doctors use MRI scans to get a detailed view of the soft tissues of the body such as muscles, ligaments, brain tissue, discs and blood vessels.
Ipswich Hospital Medical Imaging Department Director James Abbott said the MRI would be a significant new diagnostic tool for West Moreton Health.
“At Ipswich Hospital, our emergency department will use the MRI to help diagnose things such as spinal infections and other life-threatening conditions more rapidly,” Mr Abbott said.
“Other clinical areas of the hospital will use it to monitor things such as post-stroke recovery and breast care.
“For patients, the MRI will mean care can be provided more conveniently. For the hospital, it will mean being able to attract and keep more clinical staff who will work with this specialised piece of equipment – a team of up to five clinical staff will be needed to support the unit.
“We are very much looking forward to hitting the ground running with this important diagnostic tool.”
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