Western Health would like to advise the general public that beginning on November 16th, 2009, new X-ray equipment will be installed at the Deer Lake Medical Clinic. The installation is expected to take about four weeks to complete. X-ray services will be unavailable for this time period as a result.
Western Health would like to advise the general public that beginning on November 16th, 2009, new X-ray equipment will be installed at the Deer Lake Medical Clinic. The installation is expected to take about four weeks to complete. X-ray services will be unavailable for this time period as a result.
Sheila Freake, Director of Medical Imaging at Western Health, believes this new equipment will be of great benefit to the clinic and people it serves. “The current X-ray equipment is stationary and we have to work around the equipment which at times can be very difficult,” said Freake. “The new X-ray machine will be more patient friendly allowing us to work around the patient and can even accommodate someone with mobility limitations.”
The new equipment will be more convenient and user friendly for staff and patients, rather than the current fixed machine, the table lowers up and down to allow easy access for patients. This new equipment replaces a unit that was built in the 1970s and will provide a more reliable X-ray service to the people in Deer Lake and White Bay region and areas served by the clinic.
The installation of the new equipment will cause a disruption to X-ray services at the Deer Lake clinic. During the installation period, there will be no X-Ray services available at the Deer Lake clinic. On Thursday, December 17th, 2009, the installation will be complete and the X-ray equipment is expected to be in full service. There will be no disruption to lab services at the clinic during this time.
During the installation, individuals requiring x-ray services are asked to travel to the Medical Imaging Department of Western Memorial Regional Hospital to receive their x-ray.
The work that will take place at the clinic for the installation is fairly extensive. The old equipment will be removed, the area will be prepped which includes an electrical upgrade, the new X-ray equipment will be installed. During that time as well, staff will be trained to use the new machine.
Western Health would like to ask for the public’s co-operation as we move toward improving the x-ray services to the people of the Deer Lake and White Bay region.
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For further information:
Heidi Staeben-Simmons
Director of Communications
Western Health
637-5252
heidistaebensimmons@westernhealth.nl.ca