Medical Imaging, encompassing diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology and nuclear medicine, will become an inhouse service under the banner of Northern Imaging Victoria (NIV) from 5 October, 2023.

Radiology services are currently provided at three Northern Health campuses; Northern Hospital Epping, Broadmeadows Hospital and Bundoora Centre, and will all transition to NIV on this date.

“Since early 2022, our project team has worked tirelessly to build the foundation of NIV,” said A/Prof Terry Kok, Director of Imaging Services, Northern Health.

“This includes the introduction of new imaging IT systems (Agfa PACS and Kestral RIS) to physical expansion of our footprint across the Northern Health campuses. This is the first phase of NIV development with new expanded services in Broadmeadows featuring a new 3T MRI and regular ultrasound service as well as an in-house PET-CT service at the Northern Hospital coming online in December 2023 and mid 2024 respectively.”

“We will also be welcoming over 170 imaging staff including new team members who are excited to join Northern Health on this journey.”

When it comes to requesting imaging studies, radiology and Nuclear Medicine workflows will remain unchanged. Hybrid printed EMR requests will be used for emergency department and inpatient imaging referrals, and paper-based request forms for outpatient imaging referrals. Interventional Radiology and procedural referrals will also remain unchanged. Both NIV and Lumus Imaging referral forms (or any valid imaging request form) will be accepted.

There will be a temporary reduction in outpatient imaging capacity during the transition phase due to reconfiguration of services. Lumus Imaging will provide overflow outpatient (e.g. outpatient CT, MRI and US scans) and PET-CT imaging support during this time.

“Our aim is to further enhance safety, quality and efficiency in Medical Imaging to enhance patient and clinician experiences at Northern Health”, said Sophie Dodson, Operations Manager, Northern Imaging Victoria.

“We have an incredible team of over 170 highly trained and experienced staff with a commitment to clinical excellence, education and research, and we are excited for this next step in the inception of Northern Imaging Victoria.”

The Northern Imaging Victoria team look forward to providing staff with further updates as we undergo this transition.