Niece of CT scanner inventor says 'my uncle would turn in his grave' over removal of equipment from Newark Hospital

The niece of Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, the inventor of the CT scanner, described the decision to remove the one in his home-town hospital as an insult.

Sir Godfrey (1919-2004) was born in Sutton-on-Trent and attended the Magnus Grammar School, Newark.

An engineer, he shared the 1979 Nobel Prize for his role in developing CT scanning, which revolutionised medical imaging.

The scanner provides a more accurate picture of the body and the brain than a standard X-ray.

His niece and nephew, Miss Linda Hounsfield and Mr Andrew Hounsfield, opened Newark Hospital’s Hounsfield CT Suite, where the £1m scanner was installed.

Miss Hounsfield, of Thorpe, said: “I think my uncle would turn in his grave.

“He would be horrified, I am horrified and the people of Newark will be horrified.

“You can’t name it after him and then take it away. I would call that an insult. One minute they hail him, the next they take it away.

“His invention is being used all over the world and yet there won’t be a unit in his home town. It is appalling.

“It seems like a betrayal. After all he has done for humanity, it is a poor show.”

Miss Hounsfield said she did not understand the rationale for removing the scanner.

“Newark is a growing community,” she said.

“The community has got to get together and fight this. Whenever I have gone to Newark I have had good treatment.

“We need confidence in the local area that when you fall ill you will get looked after.”

The MP for Newark, Mr Robert Jenrick, said he would welcome the support of the Hounsfield family in the fight to save the scanner.

He said: “I hope relatives of Sir Godfrey Hounsfield can join the campaign because they are a powerful voice.

“The trust says it is strongly committed to the hospital. I want to believe that, but it has to back it up with action. When it takes away important services it gets harder and harder to defend its position.

“Newark deserves a decent range of services at a convenient hospital without the need to travel a long distance.”