A STATE-OF-THE-ART laser and digital camera installed at Kidderminster Hospital's urology department is set to speed up the diagnoses and treatment of kidney stones and associated cancers.

Kidderminster Hospital's League of Friends charity paid the £32,000 needed for the new equipment, which enables the treatment of stones to be handled as day cases.

Two patients had operations within days of the laser being installed at the Bewdley Road hospital, and up to 30 are expected to benefit from the service each year.

A 56-year-old former farmworker, who had been on the waiting list for 10 months, was the first to benefit and said: “I am told I had a very hard kidney stone but the operation seemed to take no time at all.

"It was a quick procedure and a very good experience from a patient’s point of view.”

The second patient, a retired health worker who received the best possible news when a diagnostic camera procedure ruled out cancer, added: "The plan was to zap a suspected cancerous growth with the new laser but the camera ruled out cancer and I was given the all-clear.

“I was hugely impressed by the consultant and his team, who were so efficient and re-assuring.

“It is great to have this kind of service at a local hospital and have your treatment all over in a day.”

As well as making diagnoses and treatment quicker, the equipment also brings improved cancer detection and the ability to tackle more complex stones thanks to significantly improved high-definition vision for doctors carrying out procedures.

Consultant urologist Vincent Koo, who is steering the new service, said: “We hope to treat 30 patients in the first year but the number could rise to 90 a year as we progress to more complex treatments.

“This means better use of resources within the health trust, and improves patient choice with the delivery of a high quality service.

”Our team at Kidderminster is fully engaged in adopting the new treatment and enthusiastically underwent the laser training needed to operate the equipment.”

The League of Friends raises funds through its popular hospital coffee shop and Kidderminster charity shop in Kidderminster’s Swan Centre and via legacies and donations from others wanting to support the town hospital.