MY MRI Appeal

Pinderfields Hospital

Pinderfields Hospital is the busiest of the Trust’s hospital sites. Home to a Major Trauma Unit, Spinal Injuries Unit and the regional Adults and Children’s Burns Centre, it serves approximately 5 million residents from Yorkshire and the Humber.

Pinderfields provides an exceptional level of care to more than 127,000 patients attending its Emergency Department each year. Over 58,000 of these patients are admitted to Hospital and at least 35% will require some form of medical imaging in the Radiology department.

The Radiology department will also see patients seeking diagnosis or treatment for serious illnesses such as cancer.

Time spent with the radiology team is often critical to achieving the best outcome for both patients and their families.

Why we need to raise money

In recent years, Pinderfields has successfully introduced a number of innovative projects aimed at reducing the stress and anxiety associated with acute and emergency medicine. The approach has been practical and holistic, minimising waiting times and making it possible for patients to see a specialist and oncologist on the same day. The next major project is to fund and develop a radiology Diagnostic Suite at Pinderfields Hospital, to improve scanning capability for all patients at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust. The Suite will house a new generation, 3.0 Tesla MRI (Phillips) scanner.

The existing 1.5 Tesla MRI machine at Pinderfields was first installed in 2011. Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a diagnostic technique that uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to produce a precise picture of the part of the body under investigation.

The technique is used to assist everything from neurosurgical intervention to cancer diagnosis. Each year the Trust has seen demand for MRI scans at Pinderfields increase by as much as 11% and the current machine's technology and capacity is becoming stretched.

The much needed Radiology Diagnostic Suite upgrade is estimated to cost £6 million. The majority of this expense is being funded by the NHS and the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust. The remaining £1.25 million needed to pay for associated training costs, supporting equipment and improve the surrounding environment in order to deliver on our ambition to achieve an extraordinary service, will need to be raised from generous donations.

How you can help

Impact of the new Diagnostic Suite

Developing our diagnostic imaging suite and investing in the new 3.0 Tesla MRI and associated costs will enable the Trust to meet five key outcomes.

Addressing health inequalities

Within the communities served by the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust there are many areas of extreme deprivation, which sadly, reflect much higher instances of life-threatening and life-limiting conditions such as cancers, heart disease, stroke and diabetes. This results in the Trust's hospitals treating an inordinately high number of acute patients each year.

Demand for specialist advanced medical imaging is rising. We want to make it possible that that when patients in Wakefield, Dewsbury or Pontefract need it most they can access the same world-class diagnostic imaging as a patient in neighbouring cities and towns.

80% of patients at Mid Yorks require diagnostic imaging as part of their care. Imaging - often the vital first step in a patient’s care pathway - can be the difference between a patient having a good or a poor outcome. The planned Suite will give patients access to the best diagnostic imaging available.

Delivering world-class care

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust has recently achieved teaching status. The Trust must be equipped to reflect this level of recognition. Imaging is a key component to this. The new status, coupled with a new MRI Diagnistic Suite, will help the Trust recruit talented radiologists and radiographers to a growing team, who together continually strive to learn more about their specialist field so that they can change and save the lives of those they treat.

The delivery of world-class care requires advanced imaging capability, the 3.0 Tesla MRI is capable of carrying out a whole body MRI scan in as little as 30 minutes and is considerably better tolerated by many patients. The increased speed also means more scans can be conducted each day, easing pressures on the stretched service and reducing waiting times for patients.

Pinderfields is a designated trauma unit for the region, and a specialist centre for spinal injuries and burns. The improved diagnostic suite will enable the Trust to continually improve the world-class care they are renowned for.

Improving patient outcomes

Paediatric imaging can be challenging. Children who are distressed and in pain are often unable to tolerate the MRI scanner, making it difficult to obtain images needed to inform their care. This means that children may need a general anaesthetic before having an MRI. Currently, a child attending A&E in Pinderfields who needs an MRI under general anaesthetic has to be transferred to Leeds or Sheffield because the department cannot accommodate it. This can be incredibly distressing, not least inconvenient, for both the child and their family. It also increases the time it takes to get a critical scan in a moment of emergency. Our new diagnostic suite will not only have the space for anaesthetists to work, but also a dedicated recovery area, essential for any patient recovering from anaesthesia.

In addition, the Trust can be a local access point for outpatients, preventing patients having a long wait to attend Leeds or Sheffield, and of course, significantly reducing travel.

Expanding research capabilities

What the Trust's exceptional radiology team could achieve in medical advancements with the very best imaging equipment at their disposal knows no bounds. The team want to embrace their excellence and contribute to the upward course of medicine along with their peers across the UK and the around the world, supporting our entire radiographic workforce, including those who deliver the departmental research.

Serving changing communities

The population of the Trust is already a very broad demographic and its different ethnicities often experience higher instances of specific diseases and conditions.

The Trust also need to meet the continued and significant increase in the numbers of scans each year. In 2011/12 the Trust conducted 37,703 CT scans and 16,852 MRI scans. In 2019/20, the Trust conducted 63,731 CTs and 32,310 MRIs, which represents an 8.6% and 11.5% rise year on year respectively.

Effectively, the demand for CT and MRI scans doubles every ten years.

“I’d reached the age of 50 and was feeling more tired than usual. My GP suggested a blood test to detect prostate cancer, which initially was only slightly raised. Six months later, a more concerning result led me to the team at Pinderfields and the detection of early-stage prostate cancer.

Even though there was a history of the disease in the family, the news still came as something of a shock. Thanks to the expert care I received from clinicians and nurses, my worries were carefully managed and surgeons were able to use precise MR imaging to isolate the tumour and remove it.

I’m so glad I sought advice and took a test when I noticed those first signs of fatigue. There’s no doubt that my GP’s encouragement to do this, as well as having access to the fantastic medical care at Pinderfields, saved my life.”

Andrew David Richardson, Patient

Project delivery

Work on the project will begin in 2023. It is vital the funds required are raised as soon as possible to meet the target that the new MRI Diagnostic Suite will be open and serving patients in late 2024.