WOMEN in Rugby will no longer be sent to Coventry to get treatment for urinary problems when a new service is launched at St Cross Hospital later this year.
The Friends of St Cross charity has donated over £41,000 to buy equipment for a new Flexible Outpatient Cystoscopy Urogynaecology Service (FOCUS) in the hospital’s Owen Building.
The new service, which will be available to the whole of Warwickshire, will treat women who have problems with refractory urinary incontinence, lower urinary tract symptoms or complications from previous incontinence or prolapse surgery.
Current patients from Rugby have to travel to University Hospital in Coventry for a procedure that requires general anaesthesia and an overnight stay – but will only need a local anaesthetic at the Rugby service and will be able to go home the same day.
The new service was announced at the AGM of the Friends of St Cross yesterday (Wednesday June 28) when Kara Marshall, Group Manager for Women’s and Children’s Services, thanked the charity for their support.
The FOCUS clinic will be led by Mrs Supriya Bulchandani, Consultant Obstetrician and Urogynaecologist, and Clinical Lead for Urogynaecology.
She said: “This will provide a more accessible service and reducing waiting times currently associated with an inpatient admission.
“This allows us to improve the standard of care for our patients, and the reputation of Urogynaecology in Coventry and Warwickshire.
“Initially we will offer one clinic per month, with an additional slot on a fortnightly basis in the already established Urogynaecology clinics at St Cross.
“Longer term, we plan to develop nurse-led flexible cystoscopy clinics supported by the Consultant Clinical Lead to be able to offer even more appointments facilitating service expansion for patients across Warwickshire.
“We are very thankful to the Friends of St Cross for helping us to introduce this new service for our patients.”
Willy Goldschmidt, Chairman of the Friends of St Cross, said: “The Trustees are extremely proud to be able to help to bring a second new service to St Cross this year for the benefit of the patients from Rugby, Coventry and Warwickshire and across the West Midlands.
“Together with the commitment for the Sleep Studies Observation Unit and the creation of a more child-friendly Children’s Outpatient Department and various other smaller requests, this brings the total promised so far this year to £180,000.
“Of course we can only achieve this with the support of the community whose passion for the Hospital of St Cross is shared by our volunteers and the superb staff at St Cross.”
The new service is scheduled to start in August.
