A MILLION-pound appeal is launching tomorrow (Friday) to help Wythenshawe Hospital purchase a new MR Scanner.

The scanner is one of the most up-to-date in the medical field and the hospital is hoping to have the equipment in place to coincide with the opening of the new acute block at the hospital in 2001.

And with the help of a number of highly publicised fund-raising events over the next eighteen months, which will be publicised in SAM - it is hoped the £1 million target can be reached with ease.

Co-ordinator for the appeal is Sian McKenna and she stressed the importance of the Magnetic Resonance (MR) Scanner.

She told SAM: "Almost everybody will use an MR Scanner in their lifetime with it's multi-purpose imaging system.

"It produces the most detailed pictures of the body that are available today using a magnetic field and is important in detecting a wide range of conditions from heart disease to cancer."

The scanner is a completely safe piece of equipment that also has the benefit of being of use to pregnant women and young children.

It also can provide a more accurate diagnosis and often reduce the need for surgery.

Sian went on: "At present all patients requiring a scan are referred to Christie's Hospital so to have our own would reduce waiting time and also improve the hospital as a centre of excellence."

The hospital is due to benefit from an MR Scanner donated to the South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust from the Government health budget but Sian says that this will be concentrated on cancer patients and another scanner would widen the options for the community.

And the appeal has already been forging ahead with several charity car boot sales at the hospital over the last few months raising £6,000 for the fund.

Now it is set to gather momentum with a whole host of events and ideas planned for the coming months.

Sian added: "We want to involve everyone from local businesses to charity groups and the local community - because everyone will benefit from the scanner once it is in place."

Anyone interested in getting involved in the MR Scanner Appeal can contact Sian McKenna on 2\91-5381 or 07977 236452 (mobile).

ONE of the staff at Wythenshawe Hospital knows only too well the importance of having an MR Scanner available.

For Sarah King's son Kieran has benefited from the use of the equipment already in use at Pendlebury children's hospital.

Kieran, who is three in February, is still undergoing tests now but it was thanks to the latest magnetic field technology that his back problems could be isolated.

Sarah told SAM: "The scan ruled out a lot of serious things and eased our worries a little.

"Kieran is still undergoing tests for the back pain but without the wide use of the MR Scanner for kids as well as adults - we would have had to go further afield for help.

"That is why we need this equipment in our community so that everybody can benefit."

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