Planning application lodged as part of MRI scanner refurbishment project at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds

Plans are moving forward to increase MRI scanning provision at West Suffolk Hospital to help meet demand, now and in the future.

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has submitted a planning application to West Suffolk Council as part of its project to upgrade its second MRI scanner and return the trust back to having two permanent, operational MRI scanners.

The application for the hospital site, in Hardwick Lane, Bury St Edmunds, is to build a raised plant deck, steps and screen fences to house the mechanical plant for the MRI suite.

The hospital currently has two operational MRI scanners, but one is mobile, situated to the rear of the hospital site, while one from the MRI suite is being upgraded.

Once the upgraded MRI scanner is back, there will be faster scanning times, which means more patients will be able to access the service, a trust spokeswoman said, and there will also be ‘greater clinical scope’, meaning clinicians can see more parts of people’s bodies more easily.

The spokeswoman for West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust said: “Having two permanent, operational MRI scanners on the West Suffolk Hospital site will help meet increased demand for these services, improve patient flow and also future-proof the trust against further increases in demand for imaging services for the west Suffolk population.”

The application is to extend the bank where the current MRI chiller and air exchange unit sits, as it is not currently wide enough, the spokeswoman said.

There is already one chiller in place on that site and this an extension of the current provision. Access to drains and facilities will remain, and the bank will continue to be fenced off from public access, as it is currently.

The trust spokeswoman explained that an MRI chiller is an essential piece of medical equipment used to keep an MRI machine cool. The chiller circulates water through coils inside the MRI machine to keep it at a consistent temperature.

Without a chiller, the MRI machine would heat up and fail. MRI chillers are often located in a room adjacent to the MRI machine room. They are typically large, industrial machines that require a lot of space.

The air handling unit is equally large and of industrial size to ensure the clinical area meets standards of air exchange 10 parts per hour, the spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman added: “Planning application approval will mean that the trust can progress with this project to upgrade and expand scanning provision.”

The design and access statement with the application said the raised plant deck would be situated upon an already existing grassed embankment, immediately abutting the main hospital building, and would be constructed to the north and immediately adjacent to an existing plant deck area.

“As this is an already developed area of the site used to house plant there will be minimal new encroachment and visual impact on surrounding areas and buildings,” the planning application said.

“The materials chosen for the screen fences are designed to match as closely as possible those surrounding the existing plant area in order to minimise the visual impact.

“There are no nearby residential units or sensitive areas of the hospital and therefore no likelihood of nuisance will be caused by the proposed plant.”

It is proposed that two young beech trees be removed, however four new trees of the same type would be planted elsewhere on site to replace them.

The MRI refurbishment project is due for completion in April this year.