MRI scanner is a huge boost for Kilkenny hospital

After years of waiting and anticipation, St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny officially launched its new MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine last Friday.

The official launch was a momentous day for the Friends of St Luke’s Hospital as the MRI was only made possible through their fundraising and hard work.

St Luke’s now has a full suite of radiology equipment, comparable with any similar sized hospital in the country.

Speaking at the launch General Manager of St Luke’s Hospital, Anne Slattery, said, ‘this MRI acts as a real positive tonic’.

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“The new service is a vital diagnostic tool for the treatment of patients in St Luke’s,” she said.

“We must acknowledge and give a massive thank you to the Friends of St Luke’s today. Without their fundraising and support, today wouldn’t be possible.”

The Friends of St Luke’s Carlow/Kilkenny generously donated €250,000 towards the overall cost of nearly €1 million for this vital piece of equipment.

This donation would not have been possible without the people of Carlow and Kilkenny, who donated monies towards the MRI scanner.

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The Friends of St Luke’s also supported the hospital when obtaining its first CT scanner and many other significant pieces of medical equipment over the years for paediatric, neonatal, respiratory and other services at the hospital.

Declan McCann from the Friends of St Luke’s says that ‘old friends are best’ as evident from the major equipment donations over the years to the hospital.

The new MRI scanning department was completed in February 2022, and initially opened on a phased basis to full time service delivery in October 2022.

The MRI scanner is a state-of-the-art technology and is accommodated in a new purpose-built department.

The main advantage of MRI is that it doesn’t use any radiation (particularly good in children).

It gives excellent detail and is used as a problem-solving tool in conjunction with CT.

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The children in the paediatric department will greatly benefit from the MRI, as this is the imaging tool of choice for children with headache and other neurological symptoms, rather than CT, which limits radiation risks to children.

The MRI scanner will support the AMAU and ED, which manages all emergency conditions and acute trauma.

Women’s Health will also benefit from onsite MRI. Previously, women were transferred to other centres for their MRI, adding additional stress at already worrying times.

Many radiographers and consultant radiologists have brought their MRI skills to St Luke’s Hospital from other hospitals and have been busy training other staff on this new service.

It is exciting to see the department grow and be able to provide this essential service to patients in St Luke’s Hospital.

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Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Malcolm Noonan TD was on hand to do the official ribbon cutting.