22 April 2019
The radiotherapy team at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital has devised an ingenious way of helping their patients – whilst reducing the amount of plastic going to landfill at the same time.
Patients with prostate cancer are to be given their own drinks bottle to help them prepare for their radiotherapy treatment in the Lingen Davies Centre.
Kimberley Griffin and Kelly Pritchard with the new bottles
They are required to drink 500mls (the equivalent of three cups) of fluid prior to their treatment, but many find the water available in the department too cold to drink. Now they will be given their own bottle to fill with whatever drink they prefer, and at the temperature they prefer – and which will contain the correct amount of fluid too.
It also means that they won’t have to use and throw away plastic cups – reducing the amount of plastic that the Trust uses.
Bernadette Mortiboy, Radiotherapy Technical Superintendent at SaTH, said: “We hope that this will help our patients prepare for treatment more comfortably and at the same time cut down on the amount of plastics that the Trust has to dispose of.
“Our prostate patients have to drink 500mls of water and then wait for 30 minutes before their treatment can begin. Many find the water in the water fountain too cold and that can make it difficult for them to drink three cups quickly.
“Now they will be given their very own drinks bottle at pre-assessment, which have been donated to us in radiotherapy. They can fill it at home with either water or squash, and they can then choose the temperature of the water.
“If they forget their water bottle we will still have the plastic cups available, however we are hoping that we will still reduce the amount of plastic that we send to landfill each year.”
Dr Narayanan Shrihari, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at SaTH, said: “The team have come up with an ingenious solution which will help our patients be better prepared for their treatment. We are grateful for the donation of the water bottles, we are always happy to improve the service we offer our patients.”