A group of health professionals from Croydon went to the House of Commons to receive a prestigious award in recognition of their hard work and high standards of patient care.

The team, who work in the magnetic resonance imaging unit at Croydon University Hospital, had been named London Radiography Team of the Year by their professional body.

Colleague Gillian Winter put the team forward for the award after witnessing first-hand how they managed to maintain normal standards of service after a fire in July last year destroyed the hospital’s MRI unit and scanning equipment.

Using only a mobile scanner, which was brought to the site the day after the disaster, the team resumed a near-normal service.

“For nine months until a new department was opened in April this year, this dedicated team of radiographers and administrators worked 12 hour days, seven days a week, to ensure that the people of Croydon and the surrounding area had access to an MRI imaging service in their local hospital”, Gillian explained.

“Despite the difficulties, the team maintained the highest standards of patient care and safety. Each and everyone was willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to get the job done and give patients the best experience they possibly could.”

Established in 1999, the MRI team is led by Janet Dark, the imaging services manager.