Hospitals are using out-of-date MRI and CT scanners — with some up to 18 years old

ALMOST half of hospitals are using out-of-date MRI and CT scanners — with some up to 18 years old.

The vital gear should be replaced after ten years for patient safety.

Older kit risks exposing people to higher radiation while producing worse images, making diagnoses harder.

But an information request by Labour found 48 per cent of trusts use scanners beyond their recommended lifespan.

More than a tenth of the 60 trusts which responded are using scanners in action for more than 16 years.

And a fifth are still probing patients with equipment from 2010.

One X-ray scanner at the East Sussex Healthcare Trust was more than 18 years old.

At Imperial College Trust an MRI was still in action after 18 years and five months.

In 2020 an independent report for the NHS told chiefs to replace all imaging equipment more than ten years old.

Labour warned patients could be suffering.

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to give docs the latest kit by allowing the NHS to bulk-buy products, while scrapping red tape.

He told The Sun: “Staff are struggling to keep the health service afloat, but their jobs are made even more difficult by obsolete technology. It’s time for an upgrade.”

The Department of Health said: “We are investing record sums to upgrade facilities.”