Watford General Hospital unveils life-saving new scanner

West Herts Hospitals Charity raised £695,000 to buy a interventional radiology scanner that will be at the heart of a new suite at the hospital that is due to be opened to patients in late August.

The organisation is now set to launch another appeal that will aim to raise “at least” another £700,000 to buy specialist equipment for the treatment of breast and prostate cancer.

Senior hospital staff were joined by political and community figures at a reception at Watford General this morning where they were also able to get a first glimpse of the cutting-edge technology.

Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire Robert Voss addressing the guests alongside Trust chief executive Matthew Coats (Image: Watford Observer)

Interventional radiology allows minimally invasive image-guided surgery to be conducted through tiny pinholes, rather than more traditional open surgery involving large incisions in the body.

The opening of the suite marks the “realisation of a personal ambition” for Dr Muhammad Affan Zamir, diagnostic and interventional radiology consultant at West Herts Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, that has been six-and-a-half years in the making since he first joined the Trust.

“You have really helped to build a facility that will save lives,” he said, thanking the donors who made it possible. “It’s not a cliché, it’s the truth. It will alleviate suffering and provide hope to cancer patients.”

The scanner is set to be used for the first time towards the end of August (Image: Watford Observer)

Explaining more about how the scanner works, Dr Zamir said: “This is advanced, cutting-edge technology which will allow us to see high-resolution, clear images as we navigate within the body and it will significantly enhance our ability to perform minimally invasive procedures with greater precision, safety and efficiency.

“The scanner will also enable us to perform complex procedures that we wouldn’t have been able to perform in the Trust previously. In particular, we’ll be able to undertake ever more advanced life-saving procedures, but also life-changing treatments for both cancerous and non-cancerous conditions.

“The project hasn’t just been an investment in equipment. Fundamentally it’s been an investment in the health and wellbeing of our community.”

The new interventional radiology suite was the brainchild of Dr Muhammad Zamir (Image: Watford Observer)

The reception was opened by the Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire Robert Voss, who is the new patron of the hospitals charity.

He thanked the organisation for raising the “astonishing” amount, singling out several donors including the League of Friends of Watford Hospitals, led by Freemen of the borough Norman and Mavis Tyrwhitt, which contributed £100,000.

Thanks were also expressed by Trust chief executive Matthew Coats and charity chief executive Alison Rosen, who revealed the plans for the next big fundraising drive.

She said: “This summer we’re going to launch a major capital appeal to introduce ground breaking technology that will revolutionise cancer treatment in the local area.

“There are two pieces of main equipment that we would like to fund. One’s called the Savi Scout for precision breast cancer surgery. It’s a state-of-the-art surgical guidance system that uses radar technology to pinpoint and remove cancerous tissues. This advancement promises to significantly enhance surgical accuracy, improve patient outcomes and save more lives.”

The second piece of equipment is for the treatment of prostate cancer and Alison explained: “It’s called focal therapy and it focuses specifically on cancerous tissue also but it minimises damage to surrounding healthy tissue and reducing the risk of side effects. By adopting this minimally invasive technique we can deliver more effective and less disruptive treatment options for prostate cancer patients.”