Brecon's X-ray unit to re-open on April 24th and Newtown's is now open again

The X-ray unit at Newtown’s Montgomeryshire County Infirmary has now re-opened after having new digital equipment installed and the unit at Breconshire War Memorial Hospital is due to open on Thursday April 24th.

Brecon will mark the successful installation of the new units in a number of Powys hospitals. These produce faster, clearer images and have been funded by a £1.7m Welsh Government programme.

As well as providing quicker results and more accurate diagnoses, the new machines will also help to reduce waiting times for X-rays. This in turn will improve access to treatment for patients. The new X-ray machines also use a lower dose of radiation than the existing machines, which in turn reduces the radiation exposure for patients.

The installation work began in November and Welshpool, Llandrindod Wells, Ystradgynlais and, most recently, Newtown (photo above) have already re-opened.   While this installation work has been taking place, patients who needed X-rays have been redirected to another of the health board’s community hospitals although other radiology services (e.g. ultrasound) were unaffected.  

Claire Madsen, Executive Director for Allied Health Professionals, Health Sciences at Powys Teaching Health Board said: “I’m really pleased that this work is almost complete and I’d like to again, thank people for their patience and support while their local X-ray unit has been temporarily closed in recent months. Already we are seeing a major improvement to the service that we can deliver and our X-ray facilities now compare well with the best in the world.”