Gozitan patients will not need to catch the ferry to Malta to have a CT scan or a mammogram, as the Gozo General Hospital has installed these machines as part of the upgrade of its radiology department.

The sister island’s CT scanner is actually superior to that at Mater Dei hospital.

This is because the advances in technology have allowed for such machines to be available on the market, a Health Ministry spokesman said, when asked for the reason.

The upgrade of Gozo’s radiology department transformed what were simply two imaging rooms into a “state-of-the-art” five-unit department, Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono said at the inauguration.

Gozitan citizens will have access to a skeletal digital x-ray unit, a digital radiography/fluoroscopy unit, an ultrasound unit with colour Doppler and a 64-slice spiral CT scan.Apart from the convenience of not having to travel to Malta, the Gozitan department will be able to share a larger part of the burden on Malta’s Mater Dei hospital department, the government said.The mammography unit is already in use for Gozitan women to participate in the National Breast Screening Programme.With €3.2 million coming from the European Union Regional Development Fund, which co-funded the project, the set-up of the radiology department is part of a larger plan that includes restructuring an operating theatre. The latter investment will enble digital results to be accessed across the Gozitan and Maltese State hospitals, with another €500,000 allowing this system to be used for laboratory results as well.