£55m NHS investment plan includes Dr Gray's MRI scanner
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NHS Grampian has announced £55.7 million of planned investment, including proposals to bring an MRI scanner to Dr Gray's in Elgin.
Currently, people in Moray needing a magnetic resonance imaging scan must travel to Aberdeen, but the aim is to reduce travel time.
Bringing an MRI scanner to Elgin is part of an NHS Grampian plan which was approved at a board meeting at Moray College in Elgin yesterday. The plan requires funding from the Scottish Government.
The investment is being used to deliver a new facility at the Foresterhill Campus, in Aberdeen, bring in CT (computerised tomography) and install MRI scanners – one at Dr Gray's and one at the Foresterhill Campus.
The estimated cost is £52.2 million, with construction costing £40.4m, the cost of equipping the facilities £9.2m and project development costs £2.6m. The option for community diagnostic and treatment hubs is subject to approval and will cost an estimated £3.5m.
Approval to proceed requires the Scottish Government to provide £55.7m of funding from a pot of more than £200m. If they do, a "full business case" will be put forward. Construction could begin in mid 2020.
The creation of the MRI and CT scanners will allow around 9,000 more CT scans per year and between 6,000 and 7,000 more MRI scans.
At the meeting in Elgin on Thursday, chairwoman for the NHS Grampian Board, Lynda Lynch, said an MRI scanner "is going to be a huge benefit to the local area", while board member Jonathan Passmore said he was "delighted with the proposal for the MRI scanner at Dr Gray's".
An NHS Grampian spokesperson told the Northern Scot today "work is being done" on bringing an MRI scanner to Dr Gray's but "there is a long way to go".
The spokesperson added: "We have been looking at developing the facilities for some time. Feasibly, it could save people travelling hours to Aberdeen to get an MRI scan. But it's not going to happen overnight."
Moray MP Douglas Ross has campaigned for an MRI scanner to be installed at Dr Gray's. He said: "This will make such a positive difference for patients in Moray to be able to have their scan locally rather than having to travel to Aberdeen."
