26 Oct 2014

New scanner to increase MRI capacity

8:08 pm on 26 October 2014

Many more people at the top of the South Island will have access to an MRI scanner because of a public-private partnership.

A nurse practices a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam on a patient.

A nurse practices a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam on a patient. Photo: AFP

The Nelson Marlborough District Health Board has reached an agreement with Pacific Radiology Group to install a new magnetic resonance imaging machine at Wairau Hospital in Blenheim.

The agreement calls for a portable building to be attached to the hospital's radiology department, meaning both private and public patients will have access.

The scanner will be available to the district health board for four half-day sessions a week out of 10 sessions, increasing the district's MRI capacity by 80 percent.

Pacific Radiology chief executive Dr Lance Lawler said it was a good example of how balanced public private partnerships can solve the problems of access to high tech care in provincial areas.

The scanner is expected to be operational by February.