Staff from the unit, the estates team (who managed the installation of the scanner) and Anthea Turner
10 November 2011
Television personality Anthea Turner dropped into Epsom Hospital earlier today (10 November 2011), to officially open a new £634,000 CT scanner, which helps clinicians to spot life-threatening conditions faster than ever before.
Anthea met with Chief Executive Matthew Hopkins, Chief Operating Officer Karen Breen and key members of staff from the unit, before cutting the ribbon to the new state-of the-art scanner.
Anthea said: "As a local resident, it is a great pleasure to be here today to officially open this fantastic CT scanner. It's an amazing piece of technology which we are lucky to have in our local hospital - it is saving lives.
"Having spoken to the leading doctors, radiographers and other staff from the department, it's clear to me that this new scanner is having a very positive impact on patients, and I am incredibly proud to declare it officially open!
From left: radiology service manager Mina Deved, consultant radiologists Dr Gabrielle Lamb and Dr Kirsten Younger, superintendent radiographer Ann Pendred, Anthea Turner, Chief Executive Matthew Hopkins and general manager of clinical services Lucy Hetherington.
"I am a massive fan of the NHS and Epsom Hospital is hugely respected by local people. The staff at the Trust do a fantastic job and I would like to say a massive thank you to them all on behalf of the local community."
The state-of-the-art scanner, which was funded by the Trust's annual capital development programme, is used to capture incredibly detailed images of patients' arteries, organs and tissue. And, because the quality of the images it produces is so high, it can help our doctors, nurses and other clinical staff to spot potential problems and conditions, such as cancers and potential blood clots more quickly than before.
Chief Executive Matthew Hopkins said: "It was an absolute pleasure to welcome Anthea to Epsom Hospital, and on behalf of the Trust, I would like to thank her for giving up her time and officially opening our new CT scanner.
"We are particularly proud of the new scanner. It's the very latest in technology and it will significantly improve the care we are able to give to our patients.
Ann Pendred explaining how the state-of-the-art scanner works
"Like hospitals up and down the country, we are facing tough financial times. However, we're committed to ensuring we have the latest technology across our hospital sites and this new scanner, which will undoubtedly help to save lives, is worth every penny."
Dr Gabrielle Lamb is consultant in the radiography department and explained how the new scanner works to Anthea. She said: "The new scanner is incredible. It's easier to use, it's faster and most importantly of all, it helps us treat patients faster and catch life-threatening conditions earlier.
"It's making a very real difference to our patients and staff, and I would like to say thank Anthea for coming and cutting the ribbon today. It was a very proud moment for all of our doctors, nurses and staff."
In addition to the high quality images the scanner can capture, it can also study carotid arteries (those supplying blood to your neck and brain), meaning that radiologists and doctors in the department can look for narrowing of key arteries, which could indicate an increased risk of stroke.
The scanner, which took 10 weeks to fully install, is known as a '64 slice' scanner, meaning it can take up to 64 images at any one time. This means the tests are faster, with abdominal scans taking just five seconds to capture and chest scans taken in three.
