Doctor’s dream comes true as £600,000 scanner goes live at Rochdale Infirmary

Shown with the new CT scanner at Rochdale Infirmary are (from the left): Dr Kundan Shah (consultant radiologist), John Saxby (chief executive of Pennine Acute Trust), Dr Ramesh Raja (site lead for radiology at Rochdale Infirmary), Dr Judith Mather (consul

A new £600,000 CT scanner has gone live at Rochdale Infirmary, to the delight of a senior doctor who has seen his wish come true just weeks before his retirement.

Pennine Acute Trust, which runs the hospital, has invested in the most advanced scanner of its kind in the NHS in Greater Manchester, to bring wide-ranging benefits to clinicians and patients.

The state-of-the-art machine has replaced Rochdale Infirmary’s ‘single-slice’ CT scanner, which was 11 years old, and consultant radiologist Dr Ramesh Raja and his colleagues are delighted to see it operational.

Dr Raja, site leader for radiology at Rochdale Infirmary, said: “Clinicians always want the most up-to-date equipment to give patients the best service possible and this new scanner was something colleagues and I had been pushing for. We are thrilled that the Trust has kept its word to deliver it.

“On a personal note, it’s a very nice parting gift to see the scanner installed. It complements the high-tech MR scanner and the upgraded PACS X-ray system we also have at Rochdale Infirmary.”

A CT scanner takes X-rays of patients through different planes of the body, and produces very detailed pictures of organs or the inside of the body which help doctors reach a diagnosis about a wide variety of conditions.

The images are computer generated and the speed of processing now means that clinicians can get almost real-time 3D reconstructions at the click of a button.

Dr Raja said: “Although the previous scanner was the latest technology when it was put in over a decade ago, the new scanner is in a different league in comparison.

“It is a ’64-slice’ machine and covers a much larger area of the body in a very short time. It is a tremendous asset which potentially offers wider benefits in terms of cancer services, cardiology, vascular and musculoskeletal work across the Trust.”

Examples of the benefits to patients which the new machine brings include:

If a patient requires a CT scan, they have to hold their breath during the procedure to remain absolutely still. The time taken by the old machine meant that more seriously ill patients could struggle to do this. The new machine can do the same work in a single move, making it much more comfortable for patients.

It can provide dynamic, high-resolution images of organs in different phases of blood flow.

CT Colonography is increasingly being used instead of barium enemas – it is less intrusive for patients – and the new machine is fully capable of providing the diagnostic images for this.

Carrying out cardiac CT, which is a new technique increasingly being employed to assess multiple cardiac conditions, including calcium scoring, and coronary artery assessment.

John Saxby, chief executive of Pennine Acute Trust, said: “Our patients will benefit from this investment in state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment. It complements with maximum impact the skills and expertise of our staff.”