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| New scanner 'risks two-tier NHS' | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Plans to bring one of the world's most advanced health scanners to Edinburgh risks creating a two-tier NHS, a senior health economist has warned. | |
| The £4m equipment at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary will be helping to diagnose heart problems by the end of the year. | |
| But it has been funded by the Royal Bank of Scotland, whose staff are being given special access to use it. | |
| Professor Allyson Pollock of Edinburgh University said the move undermined the NHS principle of equal access for all. | |
| Prof Pollock - head of the University's Centre for International Public Health Policy - called it "philanthropy with conditions". | |
| The scanner will be shared by NHS Lothian, Edinburgh University and the bank. | |
| The bank, which will use the scanner for 25% of the time for its own staff, said it was gifting the equipment to the NHS. | |
| For the rest of the time it will be used for NHS patients and research. | |
| Cutting edge | |
| It is the first time a hospital in the UK has had such advanced technology. | |
| The scanner, which has taken 10 years and £250m to develop, is said to be a major change in the field of CT (computerised axial tomography) scanning technology. | |
| The Toshiba device will provide an additional 4,000 patient scans a year to the current NHS provision. | The Toshiba device will provide an additional 4,000 patient scans a year to the current NHS provision. |
| It will also be used by Edinburgh and Queen Margaret universities to conduct research to improve the diagnosis and treatment of a range of heart and cancer illnesses. | |
| It will allow our clinicians to diagnose life-threatening illnesses within a matter of minutes and will also pave the way for quicker treatment Charles SwainsonNHS Lothian | It will allow our clinicians to diagnose life-threatening illnesses within a matter of minutes and will also pave the way for quicker treatment Charles SwainsonNHS Lothian |
| Unlike previous scanners, it can capture entire organs such as the heart or brain in a fraction of a second. | |
| Given the novel method of image capture, radiation exposure is reduced by approximately 80% compared with conventional CT scans. | Given the novel method of image capture, radiation exposure is reduced by approximately 80% compared with conventional CT scans. |
| Professor David Newby, director of the Clinical Research Imaging Centre, said: "The potential of new imaging technologies lies not only in replacing more intrusive tests but also in helping us to better understand and treat conditions such as heart disease, cancer and strokes. | Professor David Newby, director of the Clinical Research Imaging Centre, said: "The potential of new imaging technologies lies not only in replacing more intrusive tests but also in helping us to better understand and treat conditions such as heart disease, cancer and strokes. |
| The Edinburgh scanner "represents a major advance in imaging the body, and in particular provides the ability to examine the heart and the coronary arteries within one heart beat, at high resolution and with markedly reduced radiation doses," he added. | |
| Charles Swainson, NHS Lothian medical director, said: "It is excellent news for the region as it will allow our clinicians to diagnose life-threatening illnesses within a matter of minutes and will also pave the way for quicker treatment." | Charles Swainson, NHS Lothian medical director, said: "It is excellent news for the region as it will allow our clinicians to diagnose life-threatening illnesses within a matter of minutes and will also pave the way for quicker treatment." |