A TARGET of £550,000 to buy a new CT scanner for Musgrove Park Hospital has been reached – nine months ahead of schedule.

The money has been raised by people supporting fundraising events for the Somerset Unit for Radiotherapy Equipment (SURE) charity.

The advanced medical imaging machine will be used at the Taunton hospital’s radiotherapy department to help develop treatment plans for patients.

The new state-of-the-art CT scanner is expected to be in operation from spring 2018 when the current scanner reaches the end of its serviceable life.

It means that patients with most cancers can continue to be treated locally without having to travel to Bristol.