Royal Oldham Hospital is the first in the country to receive new interventional radiology equipment which will help speed up waiting times for patients.

The hospital, which is run by the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, will upgrade and replace floor-mounted equipment with a ceiling-mounted system.

It is hoped this will give clinicians more options for the types of procedures they can provide, allowing them to deliver even more lifesaving care to patients.

Interventional radiology performs a range of treatments including limb-saving procedures, health problems relating to arteries and blood vessels as well as liver biopsies, drainages and the shrinkage of non-cancerous tumours. 

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The new equipment will also mean less reliance on high in demand CT scanners, due to the improved image quality, and will help reduce waiting times for treatment as more can be done with the new technology.

The news comes as the Northern Care Alliance, which is also responsible for hospitals in Salford, Rochdale and Bury, hit headlines last month after a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed six patients had died due to cancer misdiagnosis and delays.

Separate documents further revealed the trust is planning on rolling out redundancies and freeing recruitment for non-clinical staff in a bid to cut its workforce and save money.

Helena Hill, interventional radiology and fluoroscopy manager at the Royal Oldham, said: “The new equipment will make a huge difference to the image quality enabling us to do more and will help to reduce waiting times for urgently needed biopsies.  

“The new technology will support greater accuracy and clinical confidence in biopsies and complex procedures that we undertake.”  

Andrew Stallard, chief officer diagnostics and pharmacy at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, added: “We are delighted to be the first Trust in the UK to receive this innovative equipment that will transform the services our interventional radiology colleagues are able to offer. 

"Not only will they be able to deliver more scans and procedures, but it will also support our efforts to reduce waiting times for our patients.” 

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