Lithgow heath professionals call for MRI scanner for hospital

And if a current campaign by health authorities is successful this life changing - and often life saving - equipment will be available for the first time to patients in the region based in Lithgow Hospital.

MRI equipment in public hospitals is federally funded and cost issues dictate the number of licences issued.

The government recently announced 30 new licences would be allocated Australia wide.

Ten of these have already been decided with more allocations to be determined next month.

Lithgow Hospital hopes to be a recipient; so too does Blue Mountains Hospital at Katoomba.

The Nepean/Blue Mountains,/Lithgow Health District Board will have to sign off on any applications submitted to the Federal Health Minister.

Lithgow’s medical profession says the need for a locally based MRI scanner is well established.

Associate Professor Dr John Dearin who is also Dean of the University of Notre Dame rural medicine campus at Lithgow has written to Federal Member Andrew Gee and State MP Paul Toole urging their support.

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He said Lithgow Hospital’s Medical Imaging Department has an excellent reputation for first class diagnostic capacity and has developed a comprehensive business plan to support the bid.

Dr Dearin said that apart from enhancing the existing facility a state of the art MRI would importantly facilitate the training of rural medical students.

Bowenfels Medical Practice GP Dr Hilton Brown said the entire Lithgow medical profession was strongly in favour of bringing an MRI unit to Lithgow.

He said local medical practices were currently sending patients to a privately operated facility in Bathurst on a regular basis with privately insured patients incurring gap payments .

Patients were also being transferred by the Lithgow Hospital to the nearest public hospital facilities at Nepean or Orange.

“Obviously this creates a lot of logistical difficulties, not the least in finding a bed at Nepean,” Dr Brown said.

“Their (Nepean Hospital’s) system is blocked with waiting times.”

Dr Asaad Baraz of the Lithgow Valley Medical Practice said the benefits of a locally based MRI scanner could not be overstated.

Dr Baraz said Lithgow Hospital had an advantage in already having necessary support infrastructure available in the former specialist medical centre which is right next to the hospital’s imaging department and which has been vacant since relocation to the former private hospital wing.

Dr Baraz said that MRI scans had huge benefits in identifying the finer and more accurate diagnostic detail in limbs and organs.

But an important bonus was that unlike CT scans and X-rays there is absolutely no radiation.

“Doctors see this as a huge plus when treating children in particular,” Dr Baraz said.