£16m for hospital scanning equipment to stop cancellations

More than £16m will be spent on new diagnostic imaging equipment at Welsh hospitals in a bid to tackle the issue of appointment cancellations.

New MRI, CT and mammography scanners will replace existing machines in hospitals in each of Wales' seven health board areas.

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said it showed the Welsh Government was "putting our money where our mouth is".

The machines should be in place by the end of March 2017.

Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital got a new MRI scanner 12 months ago and it is similar to the machines which will be rolled out to other hospitals.

MRI manager John Furnish said: "This machine has greater capabilities - it can scan giving a higher signal level in the images, which makes them much better to look at, better resolution and there are certain areas where we can do techniques we could not do before."

Alison Lee, radiology directorate manager at the Aneurin Bevan Health Board, added: "I think we're up against a rock and a hard place at the moment with the demand in patient scans going up and this development ensures that patients receive a scan of the best diagnostic quality that we can give."

On top of Thursday's announcement, a further £15m has been allocated for diagnostic equipment in the 2017-18 draft budget agreement.

New equipment

• £1.5m for Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board: Imaging equipment to replace medical diagnostic equipment at Morriston Hospital

• £2.65m for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board to replace MRI and mammography rooms at Nevill Hall Hospital and Royal Gwent Hospital

• £1.68m for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board for a new MRI scanner at Ysbyty Gwynedd

• £4.5m for Cardiff & Vale University Health Board for new gamma camera technology at University Hospital of Wales and Llandough Hospital

• £1.74m for Cwm Taf University Health Board for replacement CT scanner at Prince Charles Hospital

• £2.25m for Hywel Dda University Health Board for replacement MRI and cardiac diagnostic X-ray equipment at Bronglais Hospital and Prince Phillip Hospital

• £680,000 for Powys Teaching Health Board for X-ray and ultrasound machines at a number of community hospitals

• £1.345m for Velindre NHS Trust to replace CT and mammography rooms at Velindre Cancer Centre