A new mobile scanner arrived at Stevenage’s Lister Hospital this week in a boost for the NHS trust’s cancer treatment.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: The PET-CT scan tells doctors about the presence, location and severity of cancers. Picture: Paul Strickland Cancer CentreThe PET-CT scan tells doctors about the presence, location and severity of cancers. Picture: Paul Strickland Cancer Centre (Image: Archant)

The state-of-the-art PET-CT scanner will be in use at the Stevenage hospital every Tuesday – saving patients in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire from a 70-mile round trip to Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood, where these scans take place on a daily basis.

The scan tells doctors about the presence, location and severity of cancers, and this vital information is used to help ensure patients receive the right treatment.

The weekly service is being run in partnership with the UK’s largest specialist provider of diagnostic and healthcare solutions, InHealth, whose mobile unit will be based near the main entrance of the hospital every Tuesday – behind the treatment centre.

Patients who require an urgent appointment can still be seen at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, with the same consultant team – from specialist medical charity Paul Strickland Scanner Centre – overseeing both services.

There is also scope to extend the Lister service to Thursdays, and a plan to have a fixed location for a PET-CT scanner at the hospital within two years.

On Tuesday, Nick Carver – chief executive of East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust – met with the first patient to use the new scanner at Lister.

Speaking afterwards, he said: “This is a fantastic moment both for our patients and our staff. Cancer affects so many of us, so reducing the travel time for patients who require a PET-CT scan to make things a little bit easier for them is an important step.

“In June we met all our cancer waiting time targets, and having this state-of-the-art scanner at Lister as well as Mount Vernon will help us to continue to provide prompt, high quality care for our patients.

“I also wish to thank both the Paul Strickland Scanner Centre and InHealth for working with us to making this new service possible – seeing the scanner in use for the first time here is a proud moment for the trust.”

Paul Strickland Scanner Centre’s CEO Claire Strickland, added: “We are very proud of this new service – a flagship collaboration between us as a specialist cancer imaging charity, our industry partner InHealth and the NHS.”