We always strive to improve the care and treatment we offer to our patients and so I am glad to share the news that we have a new Radiotherapy CT scanner – one of the first in the country – at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

It is all down to the support of the Lingen Davies Cancer Fund which donated nearly £500,000 for the new state-of-the-art scanner.

Thank you to this fantastic charity and to all those who take the time to raise money for them, and to all my colleagues who have been involved in the project to bring it to fruition for the benefit of our patients – I know how hard you have all worked on it.

Major building works had to take place to accommodate the scanner in a former treatment room at the Lingen Davies Centre.

The new Radiotherapy scanner, which uses advanced technology, is now fully operational. It will help my colleagues to plan patient treatment and care more effectively and precisely ensuring we are giving the best treatment we can to our patients.

Our Emergency Departments are extremely busy at the moment, so please remember if you are feeling unwell, choose the most appropriate service to ensure that you get the best possible care. If you are thinking about attending A&E, please consider whether this is the right place to go for the care you need.

A&E is for genuinely life-threatening emergencies – for example chest pains or severe bleeding or burns. If you have a life-threatening illness or injury, please continue to dial 999.

But if your condition is not life-threatening, please think of the different treatment options available and visit your local pharmacy or NHS 111 online which will advise you where to go for advice or treatment. More details are available are on our website www.sath.nhs.uk

The past few days have seen temperatures reach record-highs and as you are aware we care for the most vulnerable in our hospitals.

A huge thanks too for all the incredible efforts of my colleagues who have coped admirably in the exceptional heat. They have all worked so brilliantly together and supported each other to ensure that our patients were safe and receiving the best possible care despite the challenging circumstances.

It is times like this that I see once again how my colleagues step up and do all that they can to make our patients as comfortable as possible.

Don’t need this sentence – It is also important to ensure that my colleagues keep themselves safe too by staying hydrated and taking regular breaks.

I hope that you all managed to cope in the heatwave too and followed the guidance to keep safe.

Well done to our End of Life Care colleagues who, in the last seven years, have raised nearly £71,000 for our Swan Fund.

This has recently included kind donations from bereaved families as a thank you for the care their loved ones received, a fundraising beard shave by a member of The Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Charity, and a skydive by Specialist Nurse Debbie Snooke.

All the donations are used to help make a difference for our patients who are at end of life and their families.

Hayley