New pain relieving equipment for Rugbeians at St Cross thanks to fundraising group

Rugbeians will benefit from new pain relieving equipment at St Cross thanks to the efforts of a long-standing fundraising group.

The Friends of St Cross have donated the latest ultrasound guided pain relief injection equipment which is set to benefit patients attending the Outpatients department.

Ali Aman, Surgical Care Practitioner, said: “Ultrasound guided joint injection is an effective diagnostic and therapeutic procedure in the management of hip osteoarthritis which can be provided in an Outpatient clinic. Previously treatment required the patient to be booked on to a theatre list as a day case admission and the injection required a series of x-rays and exposure to radiation.”

“Newly referred patients are able to undergo assessment, imaging and management in one visit. Follow up patients are also able to have repeat injections on the same day. This reduces waiting times and footfall in hospital, and streamlines the patient experience. This has also freed up theatre spaces for us to do bigger procedures.”

Friends of St Cross vice president Mike Rigby was the first patient to be treated using the new equipment.

He said: “For the past two or three years I have had hip problems and about a year ago I had a steroid injection at University Hospital, Coventry to relieve the pain.

"The benefit has slowly worn off and this afternoon I went to St Cross for a top up.

"There is a huge difference as last time a theatre appointment had to be booked, three staff were involved and to be quite honest it was quite painful.

"Today, it was just Ali and his new ultrasound kit, he dealt with it quickly and it all went very smoothly - a big improvement.”

Doug Jones, chair of the Friends of St Cross, said: “It was great to meet Ali and hear about his plans to share the news, that this equipment is available at St Cross, with colleagues specialising in the treatment of a wide range of joint pain.

"We look forward to hearing of the expansion of the service over the coming months.”