Altnagelvin Hospital gets further medical boost

Altnagelvin Hospital has received another boost following its recent upgrade pledge when Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Bairbre de Brún, launched a new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) service at the hospital.

The new service for Altnagelvin comes less than three weeks after the Minister’s announcement of a major upgrade costing £17.6 million.

Making the announcement Ms de Brún said: “An MRI scanner at Altnagelvin marks a significant milestone in the development and implementation of an imaging strategy I launched almost two years ago.

“The first priority in that programme was to ensure adequate MRI provision to enhance our diagnostic capacity and to reduce waiting. I am delighted now to see those plans becoming a reality.”

Emphasising that the new MRI facility would enhance the capacity of Altnagelvin to provide modern, effective hospital services, the Minister added: “The investments being made in Altnagelvin will secure its future and will make a significant difference to patients, users, staff and the community at large.

"Hospital services are at a time of great change and at the start of a long term, sustained programme to reverse the decline of recent years and to build a modern well-equipped health and social care system which will benefit us all.”

Ms de Brún also unveiled two plaques at the Hospital. The first plaque was unveiled to mark the installation of the new MRI scanner while the second marked completion of the new state- of-the-art Medical Imaging Department.

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