Traditional X-rays and scans became a thing of the past at the Royal Free Hospital on Monday, when a new digital system was fully implemented.

The new Picture Archive Communications System (PACS) will save money because it does not use expensive film, and it will also enable doctors in different buildings to view the same images at the same time. It is hoped that the new system will reduce the number of X-rays and scans lost or misplaced.

The Royal Freen Hampstead NHS Trust became the first large acute trust in London to fully implement the system, which all hospitals must use by April next year.

Joe Smyth, director of cancer and clinical specialties, said: "We are thrilled to be introducing PACS across the trust, which will dramatically improve the experience of our patients.

"Full implementation means that as a patient leaves our radiology department his or her image will be immediately available on the clinic or the ward."

PACS will be connected to the new NHS central data store, N3, in the next few months.