Excitement as Harrogate Hospital's new £607,000 CT scanner becomes the only one outside London

The radiology department at Harrogate District Hospital has been a buzz with excitement as the team officially unveiled a new £607,000 scanner which is the only one of its kind outside London.
Jackie Wilkinson and Janet Hill with the rest of the radiology team.Jackie Wilkinson and Janet Hill with the rest of the radiology team.
Jackie Wilkinson and Janet Hill with the rest of the radiology team.

The cutting edge scanner was officially opened on Tuesday but had arrived at the hospital in June and was opened to patients in July, following a three-year fundraising drive.

Janet Hill and Jackie Wilkinson have both worked in radiology for over 30 years and said that the department was filled with excitement when the scanner arrived on site.

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Janet said: “It’s really exciting and we are really appreciative of the donors who have provided the money to fund the equipment.

Principle donor to the scheme, Tony Bramall of the Bramall Foundation.Principle donor to the scheme, Tony Bramall of the Bramall Foundation.
Principle donor to the scheme, Tony Bramall of the Bramall Foundation.

“I think because the pair of us have done it for a very long time, we understood at the very beginning, the benefit this was going to have to the patients that use this hospital.”

The new scanner will improve the quality of diagnositic images by combining two types of existing technology into one piece of equipment.

Donors to the scheme, including Tony Bramall of The Bramall Foundation were given a tour of the new piece of equipment at the official opening.

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Janet added: “This is a high performing Trust and we felt that it needed a high performing nuclear medicine department and because of the age of the previous equipment, we were lagging behind in those terms. We feel very privileged and very excited because we just know the capabilities and the benefits.”

But it hasn’t been plain sailing to get to this stage.

Janet explained: “We’ve been through absolute hell this year because we have had ceilings down, we’ve had walls taken down and brick work.

“We’ve had to keep cleaning for England to keep the environment clean enough to run a temporary service in.

Jackie added: “We have fought long and hard to get here which is why we are so grateful.

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“We were so excited when it actually arrived on site, it was like wow it’s here after all these years. It’s been a long time coming.”

But their hard work and patience has paid off as the scanner is the 21st of its kind in the world and it sits in Harrogate.