One of two new state-of-the-art CT scanners has been activated at the Launceston General Hospital.
Health Minister Guy Barnett launched the new equipment during a visit to the hospital on Tuesday.
The Minster said the state government’s $2.6 million investment will provide better access to essential healthcare for locals.
“This [will provide] faster access to the health care that Tasmanians deserve and it’ll deliver the absolutely spot-on diagnosis that we need,” he said.
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The new CT scanner will be used to detect a range of health conditions, including injuries, abdominal pain, heart disease and cancers.
A second machine is expected to come online in October, replacing the hospital’s single existing scanner.
![Launceston General Hospital. Image / Pulse](https://cdn.pulsetasmania.com.au/up/liverpool/asrv/3c8870a3-ww5akhifejnpu773t4sk.jpg)
Hospital chief executive Fiona Luthier said the new scanners will ‘improve patient outcomes’.
“We have state-of-the-art facilities, a calm room has been built to help keep patients calm while they’re undergoing their CT scanning and we now have state-of-the-art technology that will improve the outcome for our patients,” she said.
“We look forward to the second CT scanner … that will really increase the capability that we have here … particularly for our emergency department.”