Hospital £33m telemedicine boost

Edwina Hart was shown endoscopy equipment at Bronglais Hospital

Welsh hospitals are to receive a share of nearly £33m to buy new equipment for use in areas such as telemedicine.

Telemedicine allows patients to attend one hospital and receive diagnoses in another through the use of technology.

The money will also go towards Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners, endoscopy and X-ray machines, along with teleconferencing systems.

It will fund minor building work and help hospitals reduce their energy consumption too.

Health Minister Edwina Hart said the money had come from careful budgeting.

She visited Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth to see how medical chiefs will use £626,000 to enhance endoscopy facilities and telemedicine.

NHS TRUSTS RECEIVING MONEY Swansea: £9.5m Carmarthenshire: £3.2 Conwy and Denbighshire: £2.9m Bro Morgannwg: £2.2m

On Friday, the minister is visiting Ysbyty Gwynedd Bangor to look at how the funding will support the expansion of the hospital's high dependency unit.

Ms Hart said: "The NHS across Wales has seen significant investment in new buildings and equipment in recent years to help improve care for patients and the working environment for staff.

"The allocation of this £33m will help the NHS deliver better services for patients, including access to diagnostic tests, such as scans."

Dr Mark Narain, lead clinician in the endoscopy department at Bronglais, said the improvements would enable him to treat more patients and improve the quality of service.

He said some of the £626,000 his hospital was receiving would be used to build a dedicated unit for his patients.

'Clinical need'

Ms Hart said the money would also help improve services for kidney patients across Wales, including new equipment at Pembrokeshire and Derwen, Swansea, North West Wales, North East Wales and Cardiff and Vale NHS trusts.

Elsewhere, Conwy and Denbighshire Trust will receive £1.3m for a new MRI scanner.

Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Jenny Randerson welcomed news of the funding, particularly for the renal sector.

But she added: "I will be asking the minister detailed questions about the bidding process because of the stark contrast between the more than £18m for mid and west Wales compared with less than £5m to south east Wales.

"I will want to be reassured that the money has been distributed on the basis of clear clinical need rather than on a first come, first served basis."