West Berkshire Community Hospital League of Friends has recently purchased a new portable liver scanner for West Berkshire Community Hospital having won over £40,000 at Greenham Trust’s Pitch to the Panel event earlier this year. West Berkshire Community Hospital League of Friends was founded over 70 years ago with the principal objective of helping the local community by fundraising to purchase medical equipment for West Berkshire Community Hospital.
The scanner is used to detect liver disease which is now the most common cause of premature death in the UK in 35-50-year olds. This will allow a non-invasive assessment of patients who were previously on waiting lists and at risk of liver cirrhosis, who can now be scanned within local doctors’ surgeries, removing the need for a biopsy and receive an instant reading. The new equipment enables early diagnosis to be carried out within the community avoiding travel to hospitals in Reading or Oxford.
Since the purchase of the equipment in September this year, over 400 patients have been scanned at West Berkshire Community Hospital or in their local GP surgeries.
Consultant Hepatologist Dr Alexander Evans PhD FRCP said, “Incidence of fatty liver disease is about 1 in 4 to 5 people in West Berkshire, so this equipment may help a significant number of these in terms of assessing their liver disease. We plan to use the scanner both at West Berkshire Community Hospital and in the surrounding GP practices to reach out, find these asymptomatic local patients and bring them into outpatients at West Berkshire Community Hospital for a clinic appointment, scan and treatment. There is potentially a huge benefit in identifying patients with undiagnosed cirrhosis and treating them in West Berkshire Community Hospital, avoiding the need for them to be referred to Reading or Oxford.”
Stuart Stephens, chair of West Berkshire Community Hospital League of Friends said, “We are extremely grateful to Greenham Trust for their support. Not only did we win over £40,000, but they helped us raise the profile of our charity and reach new audiences via social media.
“Greenham Trust do an enormous amount for the local area, helping organisations and people in need to achieve great things.”
Chris Boulton, Chief Executive for Greenham Trust said, “We are delighted to have helped West Berkshire Community Hospital League of Friends raise funds for this vital piece of equipment which will be of significant benefit to the local community, not only in saving lives but also in providing easier access to early diagnosis and treatment.
“West Berkshire Community Hospital League of Friends do a great job in fundraising but as a result of their grant from Pitch to the Panel they were able to purchase the liver scanner within 6 months of launching the project and start saving lives sooner.”
