£2.8m cancer-blasting machine for Royal Shrewsbury Hospital

A team of workmen were at the hospital early on Saturday to drop off the equipment, carrying out the job with the help of a giant crane.

The linear accelerator machine was carefully lowered to the ground, before being painstakingly manoeuvred to its new home in the Lingen Davies Cancer and Haematology Centre over a period of several hours.

It will allow cancer patients across Shropshire and Mid Wales to receive what hospital bosses are describing as 'world class' image- guided radiotherapy treatment. They said the state-of-the-art machine will help control cancers while minimising side effects.

Motorists using the hospital site and nearby Mytton Oak Road faced minor disruption while the carefully-planned operation to install the machine was carried out.

Staff in the hospital's radiotherapy department have spoken of their delight at having the new technology to treat patients.

Health bosses said it was the latest development to strengthen services for cancer patients from across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid Wales.

It follows the opening of the £5 million Lingen Davies Centre on the site in April last year, which came about following a massive public fundraising campaign.

The centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital was funded by charities – with the Lingen Davies organisation taking the lead with an appeal that raised £3.2 million.

A further £1 million was provided by Shropshire Blood Trust Fund, while head and neck charities raised £550,000 and the RSH's League of Friends came up with £300,000. The site is now be able to serve more than 40,000 patients a year.

The latest improvement in cancer services for patients in Shropshire and Mid Wales will see the new machine allow doctors to target X-rays at cancerous tumours without damaging surrounding tissue.

Caroline Mansell, radiotherapy service manager at the hospital said: "The new machine and its up-to-date technology will offer our patients a better chance of cancer control with less side effects. This is excellent news for our patients."

Dr Narayanan Srihari, cancer care champion for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, added: "The installation of the new linear accelerator means we will have an uninterrupted service and state-of-the-art technology to provide accurate and world class radiotherapy."

The new linear accelerator will replace an existing piece of equipment currently being used on site.

Bringing in the new machine was listed as a key priority for the hospital trust in its annual plan for 2012/13.

Last year's report said the move would help to provide 'vital radiotherapy treatment for people with cancer'.

Linear accelerators were first used in radiation therapy for cancer treatment on a patient in London's Hammersmith Hospital in 1953.