NSW'S first mobile CT imaging van was officially unveiled by the state's Minister for Health Ryan Park last week.
The service is expected to see around 1,500 people per year as it rotates between Walgett, Bourke and Cobar.
"There is no fixed CT service between Dubbo and Broken Hill to the west, and the Queensland border to the north, so this service at the doorstep will help many patients avoid hours on the road, some of them up to 10-hour round trips to Dubbo, to have scans," Park explained.
"It will also improve the health of our Indigenous communities."
Western NSW Local Health District Imaging Services General Manager James Harvey who was at Walgett for the unveiling, said the service is a fully-equipped CT scanner installed in a custom-built housing on the back of a rigid truck.
The housing expands to create an air-conditioned scanning room and reception, ensuring patient comfort.
"The truck has a bed lifter to transfer patients in beds or wheelchairs, and we've ensured each hospital site in the mobile CT's rotation has had significant power, data and parking upgrades so the van's functions are the same as a fixed service," Harvey said.
"A radiographer oversees and runs the service, supported by other health service staff in each location along with Aboriginal Health Workers."
"Scans are read by radiologists, who will report on images remotely from other District areas or Sydney."
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