The opening of Queen Alexandra Hospital, part of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, has signalled the merging of several services from hospitals across Portsmouth. During the move to the new hospital, the transfer of a Magnetom Symphony MRI and two Somatom Sensation CT scanners from St. Mary’s Hospital took place with the help of Siemens Healthcare.
A Somatom Definition AS+ Dual Source CT scanner from Siemens was also installed at the hospital to further enhance its imaging facilities and carry out cardiac scans for the first time.
Siemens said that the equipment transfer project was implemented to ensure the process ran smoothly and that a good level of imaging service was maintained for the local community. Each of the system’s moves was staggered one after the other and delivered over a number of weeks.
The new Somatom Definition AS+ Dual Source CT was initially installed in a temporary location so that patients could continue to be seen while the incumbent scanner was decommissioned. It was then moved into place at the new Queen Alexandra Hospital where it is now in use for all in-patient scans, paediatric scans, cardiac work and trauma procedures.
Nicky Wragg, Clinical CT and MRI manager at Queen Alexandra Hospital, said: “We had a commissioning plan in place to ensure that the systems would be installed successfully at the new hospital and we were informed that our maintenance contracts would not be affected.
“The installation of the Definition AS+ has enabled us to carry out cardiac work, which is a first for the Trust. Its rapid post processing of images is helping us to achieve our target of scanning in-patients within 24 hours.”
Jane Schwieso, regional sales manager at Siemens Healthcare, said: “Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust has recently seen a major overhaul of its services and we were delighted to work with the Trust, helping to ensure that the transfer of equipment went efficiently. We are also very pleased that the superior functionality of the Definition AS+ for performing cardiac imaging has enabled the hospital to further enhance its already impressive facilities.”