More people each month are now having MRI scans at North Tyneside General Hospital, thanks to a newly refurbished state-of-the-art facility that officially opened this week.

On Monday 12^th January, representatives from InHealth and the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, who have been working together for more than 20 years, held an official ribbon cutting ceremony at North Tyneside General Hospital to mark the recently renovated MRI centre.

Improvements include an upgrade in scanner technology to a Siemens Sola scanner, which boasts AI technology through Siemens Deep Resolve. This ensures an improved image quality, as well as shorter scan times, so that patients spend less time in the scanner, and more patients can be scanned. 

The new whole-body MRI technology also allows for comprehensive myeloma screenings, which detect bone marrow cancer earlier and more accurately than traditional X-rays, providing detailed insights into disease spread, guiding biopsies and assessing treatment response. The upgrade to the MRI centre also includes the introduction of the ‘myExam Cardiac Assist’ tool, which utilises AI-powered algorithms to simplify and standardise cardiac exams. With two full-day cardiac sessions each week, this innovation ensures precise and reproducible scans, improving the quality and efficiency of cardiac care.

The centre is open 7 days a week and the upgraded scanner will support over 540 additional patients being scanned each year.

The full refurbishment of the centre also involved the addition of a dedicated staff room that provides a comfortable, spacious environment for teams to take time for wellbeing and refreshments during their breaks.   

The hospital serves a large population in North Tyneside, meaning timely access to the latest world-class technology close to home and in fantastic healthcare facilities.

Marion Dickson, Northumbria Healthcare’s Executive Director for Clinical Support and Cancer Services, said: “Diagnostic tests such as MRI scans are critical to ensuring our patients get timely, high-quality care, so I’m delighted that the new facility is helping us get more patients their scans each month and onto the right treatment more quickly.

“We know that patients having an MRI may be anxious about the scan itself and what the results mean for them, so to be able to reduce the time they spend in the scanner and provide this service in comfortable surroundings is important.

“The upgrade will also support improved staff experience, and I am grateful to colleagues within the trust and at InHealth who have helped deliver this important project.”

Amelia Stanliand, InHealth’s Managing Director – Diagnostics, said: “We’re really pleased to be able to formally mark the opening of the MRI facility at North Tyneside, a £1.5million investment which is just the latest step in our long-standing relationship with Northumbria Healthcare.

I’d also like to say thank you to everyone involved in the creation and running of this unit, including the team of InHealth staff who manage the unit day-to-day, for all of their efforts and continuing to provide patients with access to the care they need, even during the refurbishment work.”

Guests at the opening event were given a tour of the new facility by InHealth and Northumbria Healthcare representatives ahead of the formal ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of the new facility.  

Trust team: Birju Bartoli – Chief Executive, Eliot Sykes – Business Unit Director/Associate Medical Director, Emergency Service and Elective Care, Marion Dickson – Executive Director for Clinical Support and Cancer Services, Dr Rahul Dharmadhikari – Business Unit Director/Associate Medical Director, Clinical Support and Cancer Services, Paul McNeillie – Deputy Director of Clinical Support and Cancer Services, Dr Mark Twemlow – Radiology Clinical Lead.

InHealth team: Amelia Staniland: Managing Director – Diagnostics, Vickie Smith – Head of Operations North, Beth Dutton – Operations Manager – Northumbria, Arunkumar Metharuparampil – Regional Superintendent Radiographer – Northumbria, Abbie Llewellyn – Patient Administrator North Tyneside, Kit Endean – MRI Radiographer, Russel Las Pinas – Senior MRI Radiographer.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest trusts in the country geographically, providing services to more than 500,000 people across Northumberland and North Tyneside.

Our staff provide care in hospitals, in the community and in people’s own homes. Our facilities include a specialist emergency care hospital – The Northumbria at Cramlington; general hospitals at Hexham, North Tyneside and Wansbeck (Ashington); community hospitals at Alnwick, Berwick and Blyth; integrated health and social care facilities at Haltwhistle and Rothbury; an outpatient and diagnostic centre at Morpeth; and sexual health centres in North Tyneside and Northumberland.

We are one of the North East’s largest employers with around 11,500 dedicated members of staff and have been rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission twice since 2016.