CANCER patients in south Essex will be amongst the first in the country to benefit from a new state-of-the-art scanner.

Southend Hospital is the first hospital in Essex and just the third across the UK to be boosted by the new CT scanners.

The scanner gives lower x-ray doses to keep help cancer patients stay safe from radiation throughout the treatment process.

It also takes higher-quality images than the current machine used at the hospital, making it easier to see the difference between soft tissue, which increases the speed of treatment plans.

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Tichatyeyi Mushinga, team leader for radiotherapy at Southend Hospital, believes the change will help enhance patient care.

He said: “Our new CT scanner gives Mid and South Essex NHS Trust the very latest in cutting-edge technology, providing excellent image quality at the lowest possible radiation dose to the patient, meaning it is safer for them.

“We are so excited to be able to offer this new machine to our patients.

“Having better images means patient treatment plans are much quicker to plan, and it will be easier to see the difference between soft tissue. All of which will help us enhance our patient care.”

The new CT scanner replaces the old machine which was used by the hospital for the last 13 years.

To keep patients at ease while they have their scans, calming sky ceiling lights have been installed, showing the top of trees stretching into the blue sky.

Councillor Matt Dent welcomed the news.

He said: “This is fantastic news and brilliant that we are seeing this state-of-the-art technology coming to Southend.

“It is always great to see investment in our hospital, something we have needed for a long time, and the fact we have thing world class CT scanner will boost our local services.

“It will be music to the ears of residents too, the fact is there have been long wait times for cancer appointments and treatments so something like this can only improve this.

“It will be hugely encouraging to a lot of people who are faced with the scary prospect of having cancer.”