Patients are being exposed to radiation doses at the “upper limit of safe” because a hospital is using an outdated radiology machine.

Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham is investing £2 million to replace the equipment which has reached the end of its life.

The interventional radiology (IR) machine helps to diagnose and treat diseases using the least invasive techniques.

But the equipment has been handed two end-of-life certificates, according to Medway NHS Trust board papers recently published.

This means the product is at the end of its useful life. One certificate was issued on December 31, 2020, and another on December 31, 2022.

The hospital has requested £1,958,000 for a new IR machine.

“Not replacing the machine leaves the service in a compromised state as the likelihood of machine failure increases and it is a single point of failure,” the papers noted.

Without the service, which runs 24/7 at the Trust, there would be patient safety risks.

This is because they would need to be transported for their emergency care, and day cases would have to be redirected to another provider and planned treatments would incur further delays.

The board papers add: “To maintain the service we need a fully functional machine capable of utilising new technologies and reducing dose to the patients.”

Without this it says there could be both “financial and reputation impacts” to the Trust and delays to the patient.

Currently, a replacement second-hand tube has been installed to replace the existing faulty equipment but an obvious defect is present causing serious issues with the imaging.

The Trust had been given a six-month period to replace the machine as working with the current restrictions should not be a “long-term solution due to the increased risks”.

This term expired on March 1.

The Trust was asked if funding had been approved and whether a replacement machine had been purchased.

They said the machine is safe to use within strict measures and that they are replacing the equipment this summer.

Jayne Black, chief executive of Medway NHS Foundation Trust which runs the hospital, said: “Stringent guidelines are in place to keep patients safe which is our priority.

“We are investing almost £2 million in a new interventional radiology machine at Medway Maritime Hospital with installation starting this summer.

“We are seeking every opportunity to bid for extra funding and continue to use our limited funds to replace essential equipment.

“We have already invested heavily in diagnostic equipment with more to follow later this year including over £12 million to improve access to tests and scans in Medway and Swale, £2 million to replace our gamma camera and £1.8million to replace MRI scanners.”