Royal Bolton Hospital - Ultrasound Scanner

The Neo Natal Unit in Bolton treats approximately 300 pre-term babies each year from communities throughout the Bolton borough. Staff on the unit have approached us for help in providing a Philips Ultrasound Scanner to help assess the condition of new-born babies.

All babies born before 37 weeks must have a brain scan to monitor their developmental progress, and each baby will have at least 2-3 scans while on the unit. At present staff are using an outdated scanner which was first purchased in 1993. Although this scanner is still working, the modern equipment provides a dramatically improved imaging quality, and therefore allows staff to respond much more effectively to a baby’s needs.

The new scanner is a mobile unit, and as a result will be taken to the monthly Cardiac Clinic within the hospital. Between ten and fifteen children attend this clinic each month, and at present there is no scanner at the hospital as accurate as this one. Once this equipment is in place more children will be seen at Bolton, rather than being forced to travel to specialist units in Manchester.

The new scanner will be the only machine in the hospital with these superior levels of image quality for use on children and new-born babies. This will significantly improve quality of care, giving Doctors the best possible information when deciding how to treat seriously ill babies.

This equipment will give parents much greater peace of mind, by providing an accurate assessment of a pre-term baby’s condition. Having the scanner at Bolton will reduce the need for babies to be transferred out of the town to specialist hospitals such as St Mary’s in Manchester. This allows babies to stay on the same site as their mother, and allows the family to spend more time with their new-born, which will help the bonding process.

The Ultrasound Scanner will cost a total of £45,472. £10,000 is available from an endowment fund, so we are seeking £35,472 to complete the project.