Up until recently, patients could only access these services at Stawell between one and two days-a-week.

There is now a sonographer working from the hospital four days a week.

Chief Medical Image Technician (MIT), Marsole Greyvensteyn leads the team. She recently moved with her family to Stawell from South Africa.

Marsole and MIT graduate Benn Stockdale from Gippsland carry out medical imaging on the new $100,000 x-ray machine.

Also commuting from all corners of the region are three sonographers - Mandy Quinlan comes from Echuca on Mondays and Tuesdays, Alison Howgates from Dunkeld on Wednesdays and Geraldine Robinson from Ballarat on Fridays.

Stawell Regional Health Chief Executive Officer, Rohan Fitzgerald said there was a national shortage of sonographers which made it hard for rural health services to attract professionals.

"We are pleased to have successfully recruited these highly skilled sonographers," Mr Fitzgerald said.

"We welcome their skills and knowledge in muscular skeletal and vascular ultrasound and obstetric imaging, including nuchal translucency.

"The expanding radiology and sonography team is a major service improvement for the Stawell and district community, reducing the need for them to travel out of town for a medical imaging appointment."

The hospital also provides a general radiology service (excluding ultrasounds) on Saturdays between 2pm and 5pm.

The new $100,000 x-ray machine was purchased by the Stawell Hospital Foundation.

The new RADspeedM radiographic system replaced the former machine which was 18 years old.

Marsole Greyvensteyn said the new machine featured state-of-the-art technology that enhanced productivity, user-operability, patient comfort and safety.

"The old machine had certainly reached its use-by-date and the new system brings us in line with radiographic equipment at Horsham and Ararat hospitals," she said.

"The x-ray bed itself will be larger, able to take more weight and be easier for patients to access.

"We will be able to move the bed further across in all four directions and the extremely smooth-moving table-top will improve patient positioning.

"The computerised images will be sent in real-time for review."

Mr Fitzgerald said the hospital's radiology services had been strengthened by the expertise of Ms Greyvensteyn and Mr Stockdale and worked in well with the hospital's continued expansion of services.

"Our continual aim is to improve the provision of services available at the hospital and it's certainly pleasing to see this come to fruition through the introduction of this new equipment," Mr Fitzgerald said.

"We thank the Foundation for allocating these significant funds for the new x-ray equipment."