There is, in general, a three-month waiting list for use of the Royal Sussex County Hospital's MRI scanner. In June, I went through it for an assessment of a spinal injury and was mesmerised and charmed by its electronic noises (very avant garde, darling) whereas many are scared.

When I learned of the damage to it, I knew what hell that was for the hospital (The Argus, November 23). To learn a new one will be purchased to replace the existing eight-year-old one was both heartening and disheartening.

They need both so the waiting lists (and not just for stroke and heart diagnosis) can be reduced. If my former GP had sent me for an MRI scan instead of a standard X-ray four years ago, I doubt I would be facing major surgery on my spine because the MRI scan would, at that earlier stage, have shown precisely the damage at a more easily treatable stage.

-Valerie Paynter, The Drive, Hove