Supporters of a local cancer charity, Birstall BAGs, have raised funds for a state of the art ultrasound scanner for the respiratory medicine department at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.

The £14,500 donation from Birstall BAGs funded an ultrasound scanner that will be used by pleural patients on Ward 29 and in the outpatients’ pleural clinic. More than 50 conditions can affect the pleura – the lining of the lungs and walls of the thoracic cavity – and the scanner will help to identify these conditions.

Sarah Johnstone, Pleural Diseases Specialist Nurse, said: “We’re very grateful to Birstall BAGs for their fantastic donation. The ultrasound machine is portable which means that it can easily be used at the bedside and helps us to identify if a patient has a pleural effusion – a collection of fluid in the lining of the lung – or not.  The image that the scanner provides is a live image and helps us to make decisions swiftly in relation to the patient’s management which means, if they need treatment, we can arrange it faster.

“In addition, if a patient requires a pleural procedure, the ultrasound ensures that we are practising as safely as possible by being guided by the images.”

Emma Shaw from Birstall BAGs commented: “We were delighted to be able to fund the new scanner. We’d like to thank our supporters for their efforts in fundraising and attending our events – they have made this donation possible.”