Spire invests £350,000 in new X-ray equipment for Spire Murrayfield, Wirral
16 March 2021
Spire Murrayfield Wirral Hospital has unveiled a new X-ray machine, which will provide quicker results, with greater comfort, for NHS and private patients requiring diagnosis and treatment.
The digital radiography equipment represents an investment of almost £350,000 by Spire Healthcare. It will enable images to be taken and processed in as little as five seconds, compared with one minute, which it took the previous equipment to process. It will provide the best quality image that any digital X-ray equipment can currently produce.
Unlike its predecessor, the new equipment is also capable of taking full length spine and leg images, which is key for spinal and orthopaedic surgeons when planning complex surgery.
All of this will mean that more patients can receive X-rays at the hospital every day, as well as greater comfort for patients. The new equipment will also be more efficient and easier to operate for the Spire team.
The installation of the equipment was a complex process, which entailed teams working on site for two months to install it from scratch. Strict infection control processes were put in place to keep patients and staff COVID-secure during the construction process.
A new mobile digital X-ray machine has also been brought into service, which enables inpatients who are clinically not well enough to come to the radiology department to receive urgent imaging in the operating theatre or on the ward.
Sheryl Smith, Hospital Director at Spire Murrayfield Wirral, said: “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 X-ray equipment, enables us to do this.
“We are proud to have played an important role in helping to keep services going during the pandemic, when our local trust has needed to focus on treating COVID-positive patients. With our new equipment, we can continue to do this as we recover from the effects of the pandemic.”
The new X-ray equipment is part of a wider investment programme at the hospital. Over the coming months, improvements to outpatient consulting rooms, physiotherapy and 30 patient bedrooms will be completed.