Spire invests over £1.5m in new MRI scanner for Spire Hartswood

Spire Hartswood Hospital has unveiled a new, state-of-art MRI scanner, which will speed up diagnoses for patients with cancer and other diseases.

The scanner represents over a £1.5m investment by Spire Healthcare at the Brentwood hospital. It will enable up to 18 patients a day to receive a scan for a wide range of problems including neurological, gynaecological, urological, vascular, orthopaedic and spinal-related issues. The scanner will help provide diagnoses for both NHS and private patients. This will alleviate pressure on waiting lists and reduce the amount of time NHS patients wait for a scan.

Scans will take less time to be completed, using the new machine, in a more calming environment for patients. After scans are completed, they will be reviewed by an expert radiologist who will be able to provide a diagnosis and advise on the most appropriate treatment, if this is necessary.

The installation of the scanner was a complex process, which entailed teams working on site for four weeks to build it up from scratch. Strict infection control processes were put in place to keep patients and staff COVID-secure during the construction process and the teams went to considerable effort to reduce noise and disruption over the four-week period so that the hospital could continue to function normally.

The hospital has also recently invested £120,000 on ophthalmology equipment including a new optical scanner, to enhance the experience for patients suffering from various eye conditions. Other recent investments include new patient chairs and trolleys for outpatients and daycase patients, which are designed to reduce pain and help make patients comfortable throughout their stay at the hospital.

Jo Dean, Hospital Director at Spire Hartswood Hospital, said: “Here at Spire Hartswood Hospital, we are absolutely committed to making sure our patients can have fast access to diagnosis and treatment. Investing in state-of-the-art facilities, like our new scanner, enables us to do this.

“We are proud to have played an important role in helping to keep cancer services going during the pandemic, when local trusts have needed to focus on treating COVID-positive patients. With our new scanner, we can continue to do this.”

As part of Spire’s contract with NHS England to provide support during the pandemic, Spire Hartswood Hospital provided cancer and chemotherapy services for NHS patients. It cared for 9,000 NHS patients in total, between March 2020 and March 2021.