The Royal Stoke University Hospital, part of the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, is continuing to boost care provision as patient activity increases and it strives to become a centre of excellence.
After undertaking a Siemens Efficiency Project in 2012, the hospital concluded it required a new CT system in the imaging department to help enhance capacity and chose the SOMATOM Definition AS+ from Siemens Healthcare.
“We have three other Siemens CT systems in the department which radiologists and radiographers are well-versed in using, and this helped with the decision to install the Definition AS+,” said Kay Jones, superintendent radiographer at the trust.
“Staff are already confident in working with the technology, which has been essential in helping us to continue working efficiently. The addition of another advanced CT system has also assisted in creating a larger capacity for inpatients to help achieve the turnaround times and particularly when A&E is busy.”
She added: “The CT department is experiencing increasing numbers of referrals and the additional capacity is helping to ensure we maintain our waiting list targets. The Definition AS+ is being utilised for a wide range of procedures, including CT colonoscopy, which is less invasive for the patient and provides excellent quality images.’’
The SOMATOM Definition AS+ CT offers patients a fast and accurate diagnosis and is suitable for routine diagnostic work as well as complex examinations including oncology, musculoskeletal and cardiac imaging. This is assisted by Siemens’ Fully Assisting Scanner Technologies (FAST), which can automatically suggest the best set of parameters for every individual examination based on the selected body region.
