An event to mark the tremendous effort that went into fundraising to buy a state-of-the-art MRI scanner for Shetland was held yesterday afternoon, (Monday 7 October).
Hosted by the Shetland Health Board Endowment Fund, members of the community, local businesses, and colleagues joined together for the small event held in the cafeteria at the Gilbert Bain Hospital.
Speaking during the event, Lincoln Carroll, Chair of the Endowment Committee, said: “I am delighted that after several years of fundraising in the community, work by NHS Shetland staff, and the financial support of local businesses and the Shetland Charitable Trust, it has come to fruition with the commissioning of the MRI scanner at the Gilbert Bain Hospital. This is a significant asset for the community, and it is already reducing travel for many of our patients.
“Thanks must go to all of the NHS Shetland staff and members of the public who threw themselves into the campaign; without that support throughout the community, it would have been much harder to raise the funds...”
The Endowment Committee would like to thank everyone who contributed to the appeal and while it wasn’t possible to invite all to the event, its aim was to recognise the whole community.
Professor Kathleen Carolan, Director of Nursing and Acute Services, also said during the event: “It is such a proud moment to be part of the MRI celebration event and thank you for all your individual contributions that have enabled us to establish this service in Shetland..."
“When we launched the MRI scanner appeal in 2018, we received phenomenal support from our community. With so many individuals, groups, and organisations making a commitment to raising the initial £1.65M needed to purchase the MRI scanner and make this service a reality. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your personal contributions, your passion, enthusiasm, and believing that it was possible to bring the MRI scanner to Shetland...”
The Helyer MRI suite opened its doors at the end of June, and during the last three months, over 300 patients have already received MRI scans in Shetland. Helyer is a Shetland word, which means a sea-cave into which the tide flows. The name was chosen by the Medical Imaging Team.
Funds were raised as part of Shetland MRI Scanner Appeal over the years with everything from charity head shaves, knitting, raffles, car washes, community events and much more going towards the aim of buying the scanner.
The capital cost of the MRI scanner project based on last year’s out-turn and this year’s expected cost is now £4.1M. This figure includes the MRI scanner, the bespoke building, and operational running costs for the first year. The additional costs are predominantly associated with the provision of the bespoke building that houses the MRI scanner and unforeseen earthworks in preparation for the site. Due to global factors, there has been a rise in the cost of building services and materials since the business case for the MRI was first approved in 2018.
Local and international fundraising from individuals and businesses generated £1.9M in committed contributions to the Shetland MRI Scanner Appeal fund.
To ensure that the project could move forward from the procurement stage to implementation, based on current figures, the Scottish Government is now providing £2.2M in capital funding support to assist in the project delivery, which equates to 56% of capital cost. The ongoing revenue cost is £0.4M that NHS Shetland will fund.
For more information regarding Medical Imaging at NHS Shetland, visit