The Gozo General Hospital, originally known as Craig Hospital, started functioning as the main health services provider on the island of Gozo in the first months of 1975. At the time the hospital was serviced by a single X-ray screening machine that continued to be used up to 1992, when it was replaced by a newer version that also included the added fluoroscopy feature.

The new fully modernised Radiology Department, has now been officially inaugurated by the Minister for Gozo, Giovanna Debono.

The Radiology Department project aimed to elevate radiology services at GGH to a much needed level that matches the criteria of contemporary health services in regional hospitals. This project was approved to benefit from 85% co-financing through the European Regional Development Fund, covering the procurement and installation of the new digital imaging equipment as well as the lead shielding required in such projects.

The Ministry said it embarked on the task of co-ordinating and financing the refurbishment of the area in order to effect the high scale upgrading envisaged by this project. This also necessitated the co-ordination of works in order that the 1992 X-ray screening and fluoroscopy machine could still be used to cater for hospital needs throughout the course of the maintenance works.

Works on the first four out of the five new imaging rooms started in early May 2010. Structural works were also carried out across the corridor where the new Radiology Department’s administrative unit would also be established. Then came the installation of Lead Shielding in the new imaging rooms followed by the installation of new electrical and mechanical services, and other related systems.

In less than four months, in the first four imaging rooms and a waiting room were completed and awaited the installation of the new equipment, which was duly delivered on the 18th of September, 2010. By the 15th of November 2010, part of the new equipment was installed in the first four new imaging rooms, allowing for the first tests to be carried out until it was finally commissioned and handed over to the hospital.

The first digital records were saved on the new system on the 18th of November 2010, when the hospital changed over from the conventional X-ray films to the new digital system which eliminates the use of chemicals and related accessories and produces far more accurate and detailed images in a digital format.

The initiation of the final phase of this project saw the dismantling of the 1992 machinery and the installation of the new 64 slice CT scanner that signifies another important asset for the Gozo General Hospital.

In just over six months, the area that previously contained two imaging rooms was transformed into a new state-of-the-art Radiology Department.

Unit 1 – The Skeletal Digital X-ray unit offers a service for basic radiographic images.

Unit 2 – The Digital Radiography/Fluoroscopy Unit is used to take basic plain radiographic images as well as for special investigations.

Unit 3 – The Ultrasound unit with colour Doppler is of the 3-Dimensional type having 4-Dimensional facilities with colour image display. This will considerably increase the number of applications offered by this Unit.

Unit 4 – The Direct Digital Mammography Unit gives the Gozo General Hospital the possibility to provide a much needed health service. Previously there were no facilities for Mammography studies in Gozo and patients had to be referred to Mater Dei Hospital in Malta. The Mammography unit procured within this project is of the Fully Digital type. This offers optimum facility to undertake breast studies with a high level of accuracy. Moreover it has also enabled the Gozo General Hospital to join in the National Breast Screening Programme thus facilitating the participation of Gozitan women in this programme.

Unit 5 – The Spiral CT Scan 64-slice also greatly enhances the services that can now be provided in Gozo. As in the case of mammography services, the Gozo General Hospital previously had no facility for CT Scanning. The 64-slice CT Scanner represents an example of the latest technology in this area.. The digital features include more detailed, very high resolution three-dimensional images that allow for various investigations through a single test. The Spiral CT Scanner can also be used in investigations related to many other areas amongst which angiography, virtual colonoscopy which is an non-invasive procedure, as well as cardiac angiography. It is also highly efficient in treating trauma patients.

The new equipment also includes a Computed Radiology Digitization system which is used to convert analogue X-Ray images taken with portable X-ray Unit (also called as bedside Radiography) into a digital format. This basically means offering X-ray services at the patient’s bedside.

The new unit will certainly result in less hassle and inconvenience for Gozitan patients who previously had to be referred to Mater Dei Hospital for these services. It will also help to reduce pressure on Mater Dei Hospital as well as saving the costs related with the transportation of patients from Gozo to Malta and back.

The New Radiology Department at the Gozo General Hospital resulted from an investment of €2.2 million with regards to the procurement of lead shielding and new digital equipment, plus a further €300,000 for structural and refurbishment works.

This was further supplemented by another investment of around €1 million for the establishment of the necessary IT services that now link the imaging systems of both hospitals. This enables digital results to be sent to Mater Dei Hospital and vice versa, which allows for better maximisation of the potential provided by the new digital equipment.

New technologies have certainly developed significantly, especially those related to health care and the Ministry said it will continue to give priority to such services in Gozo, especially those within the hospital itself, in order to effectively reduce health services inequalities and to narrow health gaps between mainland Malta and the island region of Gozo. Apart from resulting in an increase of services to the local population, this also results in making Gozo a safer destination for foreign and domestic tourists who visit the island throughout the year.

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