12 May 2026
More than £80,000 has been gifted to Shropshire’s two acute hospitals to benefit patients needing prostate surgery – meaning they will now be able to have their care closer to home.
The generous donation from the League of Friends of The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital has been used to buy specialist urology theatres equipment to treat patients with an enlarged prostate.
The new equipment will enable surgeons at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to undertake a procedure known as holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP). It means that patients will no longer have to travel out of the county for this type of urology treatment.
Emily Tudor, Operations Manager, said: “Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) is a method for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH; also known as an enlarged prostate.
“It was developed to treat significantly enlarged prostates that a conventional operation called TURP (transurethral resection of prostate) would not manage.
“The Friends has generously donated to support the purchase of the kit required to undertake this procedure, and this will benefit patients as care can be delivered closer to home rather than an out of county referral, avoiding lengthy delays for patients.
“Recovery is similar to a TURP, where the majority of patients will go home within 24 hours.”
Iain Gilmour, Chairman of The Friends, said ” We are delighted that we have been able to fund the purchase of such an important piece of equipment to improve patient care.
“This is exactly the sort of provision that the Friends are here to enable, and I must offer my thanks to all our dedicated volunteers and supporters for their unstinting generosity.”
Jo Williams, Group Chief Executive, said: “We are incredibly grateful to The Friends for their very generous donation which has enabled us to enhance the treatment we can offer our patients and provide care closer to home.
“A big thank you to our urology team who also helped to make this possible. This will make a real difference to the care and experience of our patients.”
Picture caption: Emily Tudor, Consultant Mr Manoj Ravindraanandan, patient Mr Louis Hylton MBE and Iain Gilmour.