New MRI centre to help earlier cancer diagnoses

The new diagnostics centre at Milford Hospital has two MRI scanner and one CT scanner

A new NHS diagnostic centre which will offer thousands of extra MRI scans to people in Surrey has opened its doors.

Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust's new facility at Milford Hospital means an additional 11,000 MRI and 9,500 CT scans can be carried out each year.

The trust said the additional scans will help to identify illnesses such as cancer and heart disease more quickly and ensure patients receive potentially life-saving care sooner.

The centre is intended to ease pressure on the diagnostic facility at Guildford Hospital, which is under increasing pressure from a growing number of patients.

Milford's diagnostic centre is home two MRI scanners and the latest CT scanner.

It will complement the services already available at the hospital, which include X-ray, ultrasound, echocardiogram and phlebotomy.

Louise Stead, group chief executive for Royal Surrey and Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals, said: "I am delighted that our new community diagnostic centre has started to welcome its first patients, allowing them access to high-tech scans and diagnostic testing closer to home.

"This continued investment in our community hospitals is a key part of our strategy to boost out-of-hospital care and reduce reliance on our main hospital site in Guildford.

"I am hugely proud of everyone who has been involved in this project, which we know will ultimately improve health outcomes for the communities that we serve."