Two vital pieces of life-saving equipment worth more than £100,000 have been given to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital by a dedicated group of fundraisers.

The Friends of the RSH have been praised by top consultants who thanked the charity for its donation of a £50,000 scanner used in the breast screening programme.

A £54,000 opthalmic machine is also now being used to help save the sight of patients, including many diabetics, after it was handed over to the hospital by the Friends.

Dr John Fielding thanked the Friends for their generosity during the charity’s annual meeting.

He said the breast screening scanner had already proved invaluable to the 360 women who are screened each week by the service.

The consultant said the number of women who could be treated could now be increased as outdated machinery is discarded.

Dr Rob Dapling said the opthalmic machine had already made a massive difference to treatment available at the RSH.

He said he was convinced it would save the sight of many patients because it detects things which can not be accomplished in examinations by normal eyesight.

Friends chairman James Hodgson told the meeting that the fundraising group has given more than £1.25 million worth of equipment and amenities to the RSH to improve patient care in the past three years.

Tony Barker, honourary treasurer, said the Friends’ efforts had been complemented by a huge increase in legacies, one of which was £150,000. He put a lot of the group’s success down to the publicity given in the press and on radio.

He said: “I cannot speak too highly of the energy and enthusiasm of our many volunteers, including those who work in our shops and tea bars in the RSH.”

Mr Barker revealed that the Friends’ assets, mostly in money invested, now totalled about £2 million.

He said this money was ready to take care of the large requests for financial help from the NHS Trust expected in the future.

By Andy Robbins