Scanner to be in place by October

An end date is in sight for the installation of the €1.2m new MRI scanner at Mullingar hospital.

On Tuesday of last week, at the February meeting of the Regional Health Forum, Westmeath representative Cllr Hazel Smyth was officially informed that work is to be completed in October.

The news has been welcomed by the Friends of Mullingar Hospital, which is meeting the cost of the scanner; the cost of the building to house the machine is being covered by the HSE.

“We are delighted to hear the HSE confirm it is due for commissioning in the final quarter,” said John McGrath of the Friends group this week.

“The contract for the purchase of the machine has been signed by The Friends, and we would be expected to pay for it by the end of the year.”

However, rising costs have meant that despite hitting their target figure of €950,000 there remains a shortfall of approximately a quarter of a million euro.

The appeal to raise that extra sum was launched in November.

“When we signed the actual contract after five years of fundraising, the cost of the machine had gone up to €1.2m, so we are again asking the public, if they can, to try and do something for us over the next couple of months before we have to actually pay for the scanner,” said John.

Payment for the scanner will fall due once the commissioning has been completed.

John is pleased at the progress that is being made on construction of the building to house the scanner, adding that a lot of ground works had been required as there had been a lot of cables crossing the site that had to be dealt with.

The genesis of the project came several years back as the Friends group became conscious that a regional hospital such as Mullingar really needed access to the sort of diagnostics that an MRI can provide, John says.

“There are a number of major benefits to having the MRI: at the moment if you go in to Mullingar and need an MRI scan, they have to try and get you one in Tullamore. You have to be brought by ambulance or taxi. Some patients would not be able for that journey.

“Quicker diagnosis would be a big thing to the hospital – and that will help bed occupancy because if you are waiting for an MRI in Tullamore you might be waiting a couple of days for it, and with kids you might be waiting for an appointment in Dublin, and unless they are an immediate emergency, they would be joining a list.”

Once the machine is installed in Mullingar, it will be one of the few locations outside Dublin where children can receive an MRI scan.

Another advantage is that having an MRI can help attract greater interest when vacant posts arise: “If you are looking for consultants in different specialities, and different hospitals are also advertising, the consultants are going to look at the facilities they are going to have at their disposal, so if there isn’t an MRI, it could be a disincentive to some people. Therefore, it will be a boost even from a recruitment point of view to have an MRI in Mullingar for all sorts of consultancies.”

The money that has come in to date has been everything from a six-figure sum raised by a family who organised a major auction night at The Mullingar Park Hotel to donations from children who have held no-uniform days.

“Every bit helps,” said John as he appealed to the area to get behind the push to raise the last quarter of a million needed.

Donations can be made by going to the website friendsofmullingarhospital.ie and clicking the donation button there.