University provides X-ray machine and scanner to local hospitals

The University of Derby has continued to support hospitals in Derbyshire during the coronavirus outbreak by providing x-ray and scanning equipment.

The University has loaned a digital mobile x-ray machine to Chesterfield Royal Hospital, which is being used on the assessment wards for taking chest x-rays of patients confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19.

A medical ultrasound scanner has also been provided to the Royal Derby Hospital to help the hospital manage the increased demands generated by the pandemic.

Professor Kathryn Mitchell DL, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Derby, said: “Universities across the country are making contributions to the fight against coronavirus, and at Derby we are continually looking at the resources we have which can support the work being done in our hospitals and other care settings.

“I am very pleased that we were in a position to offer some of our diagnostic imaging resources, which would ordinarily be used by radiography and ultrasound students, to help medical staff assess patients for COVID-19 or to manage the additional pressures placed on their scanning equipment at this time.”

As part of its civic response to the crisis, the University has already provided thousands of items of personal protective equipment for local hospitals, and hundreds of its nursing students have been supporting frontline healthcare staff across the region. A temporary primary care assessment hub is based at its Kedleston Road site in Derby and staff are working with local manufacturers to provide protective visors to be worn by those who are treating coronavirus patients.

Professor Mitchell adds: “It is important to also highlight that in addition to these efforts, many of our students and staff members have made, and continue to make, important individual contributions in their own communities, brilliantly demonstrating how we can all make a difference during these unprecedented times.”

To find out more about how the University is helping in the community to combat coronavirus, visit our website https://www.derby.ac.uk/coronavirus/community-information/