A NEW state-of-the-art angiography unit has officially opened at Basingstoke hospital – and the opening honours were performed by two long-serving former members of staff.

The unit, based at the newly-refurbished radiology theatre at the hospital, in Aldermaston Road, will reduce waiting times, mean lower radiation doses, and offer quicker treatments to patients.

Equipment mounted in the unit has the ability to merge previous CT and MRI scans with live images in real time, meaning that different treatment options, including a lower dose X-ray, can be considered.

The unit was officially opened by two former members of staff – retired consultant interventional radiologist Dr Graham Plant and retired superintendent radiographer Mrs Wendy James.

Mary Edwards, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I am very pleased that two of our long-serving and dedicated experts in the field were able to come back to the hospital to share this moment with us.

“They have both been instrumental in the interventional radiology service for the past 25 years, so it was great they were able to officially open our new unit for us.”

The cutting-edge scans available at the unit allow staff to plot a path to organs for biopsies and drainage procedures, seal heavily bleeding arteries, target the blood supply specific to tumours with chemotherapy beads and unblock arteries in the leg.

Alongside the technological redevelopment, there is now a brand new dedicated clinical treatment room and waiting bay for patients.

Interventional radiologist at HHFT, Dr Gaurang Ubhayakar, said: “The new interventional radiology theatre will make such a difference to our patients.

“It will move interventional radiology procedures into a new dimension for our patients and allow the operators to perform procedures with higher accuracy than before.”