Bringing relief to lung patients

Patients at York Hospital are getting swift relief from distressing lung symptoms through new equipment bought by our charity.

We’ve funded two ultrasound machines for Ward 34 to detect fluid on the lungs of patients with conditions like cancer and lung infections.

The fluid can quickly be drained, making patients more comfortable and enabling speedy analysis and diagnosis of patients’ conditions.

We bought the machines for just under £20,000 each at the request of Dr Alison Gill, Consultant Respiratory Physician at York Hospital, and they were handed over before the current coronavirus outbreak took hold.

“We had one, much older machine – it was a dinosaur,” said Dr Gill. “We applied to the Trust for a second machine but they are pretty cash-strapped. We were unsuccessful, so we came to the charity to see if they could help. We’re delighted they agreed to pay for two machines.

“The timing was amazing – we’d really have struggled with our one old machine across both covid and non-covid sides of the hospital! Thank you York Against Cancer and all who donated – these machines are making a massive difference to our patients!”

“The machines have a probe that works like the equipment used on pregnant women,” explained Ward Sister Steph Williams. “You use it with gel and hold the probe against the chest wall. It sends soundwaves into the chest to create a picture to see where the problem is.

“Having two is just fantastic, when we have outpatient appointments it means we can reduce the waiting times.

“They are also of a much higher quality than the old machine so we get much better pictures and they reduce the number of people we have to refer to the radiology department for x-rays as well as making patients more comfortable.”

Julie Russell, our general manager, said she was delighted at the difference the new machines were making. “It’s what we are all about as a charity,” she said.