Posted: 7 February 2020

World Class MRI scanner arrives at Wycombe Hospital

Thanks to the generosity of Scannappeal supporters Wycombe Hospital's brand new MRI scanner has arrived on site. A meticulously planned operation saw the scanner, the first of its kind in the UK, arrive by a crane on Saturday 25 January.

Delivery of the scanner coincides with the fundraising appeal reaching an impressive £1 million. Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust chief executive Neil Macdonald said: “The generosity from the public to help fundraise for a new state of the art MRI scanner for Wycombe Hospital has been remarkable. The new scanner will make a significant difference to our patients and the services we can offer.”

Dr Richard Hughes, Clinical Lead BHT Radiology added: “We are so lucky to be the first Trust in the UK to have a scanner of this kind. Latest MRI techniques for cancer, stroke, heart, spine and many other conditions will improve diagnosis and reduce the need for invasive procedures.”

Lisa Trivett, CEO of Scannappeal, thanked everyone who has helped the charity reach this important milestone “when we launched the public appeal we knew the target of £1.5 million was ambitious and in order to get the new scanners into our hospitals we needed to work as quickly as possible. From day one we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our local community, many people already being supporters of Scannappeal but we have also received donations from new donors, businesses, local clubs and groups. Fundraising doesn’t stop here as stage 2 of the project is to install a second scanner at Stoke Mandeville hospital by the end of this year.”

With 22,000 MRI scans carried out at Wycombe and Stoke Mandeville hospitals in 2018, and demand growing by an estimated 13% annually, the completion of this appeal will future proof services for Bucks by increasing scanning capacity and capabilities across a wide range of medical investigation needs.

The scanner is expected to be fully operational at Wycombe hospital within the next eight weeks.

To find out how to support the appeal visit: www.scannappeal.org.uk