Decreasing both wait times and overall exposure to radiation are two projected benefits for patients once a new CT scanner is up and running at Campbellford Memorial Hospital (CMH), says the hospital’s diagnostic imaging manager.
The Municipality of Trent Hills hospital announced recently it will be installing the $1.4-million scanner in the coming weeks.
The new imaging device will replace the existing CT Scanner, which is now 13 years old and “at the end of its lifecycle,” CMH noted in a media release.
The new scanner is expected to be more reliable and provide cleaner imaging, allowing physicians to make more efficient diagnoses, said Colleen Smith, diagnostic imaging manager at CMH.
“Our new CT scanner can operate up to 44 per cent quicker, meaning shorter scan times for patients and reduced radiation exposure,” Smith told kawarthaNOW.
“This will, in turn, lead to greater patient throughput, thereby helping to reduce wait times for CT scans. Additionally, the new scanner offers higher spatial resolution, which creates clearer images, allowing our physicians to detect even the subtlest abnormalities.”
To summarize, patients ultimately benefit from shorter wait times and quicker scans, while physicians receive better images, Smith said.
A CT scanner is a powerful imaging device that allows CMH physicians the ability to diagnose and treat a variety of conditions without the need to send patients to a larger hospital.
“It really was a game-changer when we installed the current CT scanner 13 years ago,” Smith noted. “You typically don’t see this type of equipment in smaller hospitals, and it allows us to provide a level of care to our patients often not seen in communities of our size.”
The CMH Foundation committed to raising the entire $1.4 million needed for the replacement.
“It never ceases to amaze me how much support our community shows the hospital,” said Martha Hunt, CMH Foundation chair, in the media release. “2023 was a record-breaking year for community support of the hospital. We have raised just over 90 per cent of our fundraising goal, but with a last push are confident we will hit our target.”
When asked about what that support means for the proposed hospital redevelopment, Hunt noted, “redevelopment is going to be the largest capital campaign our area has ever seen. It is going to be all-hands-on-deck, and the overwhelming success of our CT Scanner replacement campaign gives me every confidence that we’ll be able to deliver.”
CMH said work is underway to install the new CT scanner and it’s expected to be completed in early April. During this process, CT scans will not be available at CMH.
“An extended CT scan downtime procedure has been put in place, and arrangements with both Peterborough Regional Health Centre and Northumberland Hills Hospital (in Cobourg) have been made to ensure that patients requiring an urgent CT scan are able to get one at one of those facilities,” CMH noted.
