A PROPOSAL to build a scanner which has the capacity to screen dozens more patients a day has been given the thumbs up.

Plans have been approved to install a new CT scanner at Westmorland General Hospital which will allow Morecambe Bay Trust to image an additional 36 patients per day.

According to the plans submitted to South Lakeland District Council on January 29, capacity and demand has identified a shortfall in the number of slots currently available for CT scans across the trust.

The proposal states that there is an expected 15 per cent increase in demand for scans annually.

They state: “Nationally, radiology services have experienced continual growth over the last 10 years and this trend is expected to continue.

“Changes in clinical practice and imaging technology advancement have resulted in an increased dependence upon radiological investigations by clinicians to support the clinical decision-making process.

“Key areas of growth are seen in cross sectional imaging (CT and MR) and case mix and complexity of scans is changing.

“Capacity and demand work has identified a shortfall in the number of slots currently available for CT across the Trust and there is an additional expected 15 per cent increase in demand annually.

“This scanner at Westmorland General Hospital will allow the trust to image an additional 36 patients per day, 48 weeks of the year, and sited at WGH will give patients access to their scan closer to home.”

The CT scanner will be constructed on the edge of the hospital site, appropriately sited near the existing MRI unit.

According to the plans, the CT scanner will help meet ‘urgent clinical care needs’.

The plans state: “The development vision is to deliver an exceptional development that meets and exceeds urgent clinical care needs, is responsive to the existing hospital infrastructure and corresponds with the setting.

“It is clear the application presents an enviable opportunity to deliver a much needed, urgent clinical care resource befitting of the urban context.”