A new mobile breast screening trailer has now been delivered to University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust as part of their Althea managed service contract.
The unit, supplied by Lynton Trailers, was first delivered to Queens Hospital in Burton upon Trent and carries a brand new, Hologic Selenia Dimension x-ray machine to provide superior clinical performance and top image quality. The trailer will travel in between Queen’s Hospital in Burton, Co-operative Extra Superstore in Lichfield, Sir Robert Peel Hospital in Tamworth and Uttoxeter Leisure Centre in Uttoxeter.
The project initiated following the Trust’s previous trailer reaching the end of its life, with a quick turnaround required due to the new screening year about to start. This meant Althea’s procurement department having to quickly secure competitive pricing for the capital purchase of the equipment as well as the maintenance for the life of the asset.
The following two months after instigation required urgent pre-meetings between Althea and Lynton Trailers, where a clear timeline was agreed for the planning, manufacturing and installation of the unit. Althea’s technology team then met with the users to discuss their layout requirements to ensure maximum comfort for Burton’s patients in the new breast screening facility, as well as the best arrangement to suit the staff who would be working in it.
To assist in delivering the trailer within the short time scale, as well as preventing spend on storage costs, the Hologic Selenia Dimension Mammography system was delivered to Althea’s warehouse in Theale, which provided a safe and secure space where it was temporarily stored.
Althea’s implementation programme manager was in charge of efficiently co-ordinating the project and keeping all suppliers up-to-date with the deadlines they needed to meet. This also meant being responsible for arranging the delivery of the Hologic system from Althea’s warehouse to Lynton Trailers warehouse in Glossop, when the trailer was ready for installation.
Lee Chlechowicz, clinical manager in imaging at Derby and Burton Hospitals, commented: “The procurement of a new breast screening van for the breast screening programme was dealt with quickly and efficiently with Althea under the managed equipment service. The specifications and design of the van, along with its delivery, were achieved within very tight time scales, time scales which Althea signed up to and delivered, something which was critical in order to deliver the programme.”
