Women’s bladder cancer scanner handed over

Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle and his fund-raising team hand over the new £10,000 scanner which can detect ladies bladder scanner to Mohan Pillai and Shahid Islam at the Urology Unit in Burnley General Hospital.

The state-of-the-art portable equipment, costing £9,800, has been paid for by residents following an appeal by MP Mr Gordon Birtwistle to fund a new prostate scanner for Burnley General Hospital.

The prostate scanner, which can detect cancer in minutes, was presented to hospital staff earlier this summer after a year-long fund-raising drive by Mr Birtwistle and his committee.

He was inspired to launch the campaign after his father died from the disease but it proved so successful that he had money left over to fund the portable bladder scanner along with a portable prostate scanner, both of which will be used at the hospital as well as clinics across town.

The bladder scanner was presented to delighted staff Burnley General Hospital’s urology department by Mr Birtwistle and his fund-raising team.

Mr Birtwistle said: “They have a bladder scanner at the hospital but it takes two hours to decontaminate it afterwards so they can only do three patients a day. This one takes five minutes to decontaminate.

“There are only a few in the country, they will be able to scan lots of patients in a day. It works by using a disposable sheath over a probe.

“Bladder cancer in ladies is increasing and so it is important to detect it early.

“This equipment will help save the lives of a lot of Burnley ladies. It will be used at the St Peter’s Centre and at major health centres in the town.

“I think it’s brilliant that the people of Burnley have really rallied behind this campaign.”