Separate CT scanner gives reassurance to patients that they can be seen safely during pandemic
The fifth of fifteen bespoke CT Scanner plus relocatable building units, designed and manufactured in the UK by Canon Medical Systems as part of NHS England’s COVID-19 recovery plan, has been delivered to Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The unit has been positioned in a car park outside A&E and is entirely separate from the main hospital building, giving reassurance to outpatients that they can be seen safely despite concerns about the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
Graham Clark, Deputy Head of Radiology at Kettering General Hospital states, “Keeping a completely clean, ‘green’ CT room free for outpatients that is separate from the main hospital imaging department means that our cancer or other immunosuppressed patients feel more comfortable attending CT appointments.”
“The concept of relocatable CT scanners is not new – we’ve been delivering mobile CT and MRI units to the NHS for many years to assist with heightened winter capacity issues or to support planned building projects.
However, the fifteen COVID-19 response CT Scan Units provided to NHS England are a result of extremely quick design and manufacturing here in the UK. It took just 8 weeks – from order to build completion – for the first unit to be deployed.”
Mark Hitchman, Managing Director at Canon Medical Systems UK.
“It gives reassurance that they don’t need to come into the main hospital and can be seen safely outside in a separate location. This reduces their understandable anxieties at this time during the ongoing pandemic.”
He continues, “Early reports are that the COVID-19 response CT Scan Units have been invaluable in providing additional CT scanning capacity for hospitals to catch up on backlogs, to give extra imaging capacity to address delays caused by enhanced cleaning times between patients, and prepare for impending winter pressures alongside a second COVID-19 wave. They also pave the way for hospital staff and management to become accustomed to separate imaging facilities outside of the walls of the traditional hospital environment as discussion builds in the healthcare industry about community diagnostic hubs.”
The Canon Medical CT Scan Unit is designed to be rapidly deployed on the back of a lorry and moved to different locations in need of extra imaging capacity. Each unit features a high-end Aquilion CT, user control room and small changing area for patients. It is designed in line with hospital guidelines with correct clinical flooring, hospital grade heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) requirements. It is fully IT compliant with datalink connectivity and includes Canon Medical’s ‘InnerVision’ remote service solution.
Photo caption:
The interior of a Canon Medical COVID-19 response CT Scan Unit.