Whittington Hospital imaging department equipped by £30m managed-service
contract
27 November 2006 The Whittington Hospital in North London has opened a
new state-of-the-art Imaging Department. The fully digital department has
been designed and developed by Asteral as part of a £30 million 15-year
standalone Managed Equipment Service (MES) contract. The new Imaging
Department includes six Philips Digital Radiography rooms; a 64 slice
Siemens CT Scanner; a Philips Achieva 1.5T MRI Scanner; a GE Infinia Gamma
Camera; six Philips ultrasound units; three Mobile C-arm Image Intensifiers
and an Xograph digital dental unit. The equipment integrates with the
Trust’s existing RIS and PACS. A further CT Scanner and Interventional
Theatre Suite will be installed into The Whittington Hospital by Asteral in
2007.
The contract covered procurement of equipment, bespoke room development,
installation and training of staff. The terms of the contract also cover
ongoing equipment maintenance, training and equipment replacement
programmes. “A secure investment plan, an integral part of a long-term MES
contract, represented a realistic opportunity in the present financial
environment to ensure that state-of-the-art equipment is continually updated
and refreshed,” said Dr David Grant, Consultant Radiologist at The
Whittington Hospital. “This approach ensures that access to modern and
well-maintained equipment is kept constant and that nothing passes its
agreed replacement age. This is a huge advantage in maintaining the standard
of clinical care.” “We are delighted that The Whittington Hospital’s
Imaging Department has gone live,” said David Rolfe, Managing Director of
Asteral. “With technology concerns now Asteral’s responsibility, the Trust’s
staff and clinicians can all focus exclusively on patient care.” In
addition to the new radiology equipment, the Imaging Department has also
opened with a unique patient waiting bleep system in place. Upon booking
into the department each patient is given a bleeper to call them back when
their examination slot is available. This reduces the number of people
waiting in the department and helps to eliminate patient anxiety by giving
them freedom to visit the shops and cafés inside the hospital building
without the risk of missing their appointment. Asteral is the leading
vendor-independent Managed Equipment Service provider to the NHS. Its unique
concept of matching the needs of hospitals to the technology solutions
available in the market, regardless of vendor, eliminates bias and ensures
the widest possible clinical equipment choice. To top
|