The New MRI machine should be installed at St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny next month.
There’s is currently a mobile unit operating an MRI service at the local hospital for Carlow-Kilkenny two days a week.
But the building to house the new permanent unit is nearly finished.
Declan McCann is Chairperson of the Friends of St Luke’s who did a huge amount of fundraising to get it.
He’s been telling KCLR that the building of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine itself has been delayed by Covid but he expects it to be working by the end of this year:
“We’re hoping that by year end the new MRI in the new MRI building will be up and running”.
However Mr McCann pointed out that it will need to be appropriately staffed too:
“It’ll need new radiographers, radiologists and support staff and the HSE will have to find the money to put that in place. But I do understand that recruitment is going on”