City's new £4.1m endoscopy unit officially opened

Jayne Dunn, the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, was invited to tour the new facilities and speak to staff

A new £4.1m unit equipped with the latest technology to help medics examine patients' internal organs has been officially opened in Sheffield.

The endoscopy facilities, which are based at both the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and the Northern General Hospital, offer various non-surgical procedures.

The Lord Mayor of Sheffield, councillor Jayne Dunn, officially marked the opening of the unit in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday.

Ms Dunn, who was previously diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), said: "I know first hand how invaluable the unit is, and it was a fantastic opportunity to give my personal thanks and celebrate all of the hard work behind it."

'Absolute honour'

As part of her visit, Ms Dunn was introduced to the IBD team and shown a new ultrasound scanner being used as part of a trial looking at minimally invasive ways to assess patients with the condition.

She was also shown the pill-sized cameras used to examine areas of the bowel that were usually impossible to reach without very invasive procedures.

It was "an absolute honour" to have been invited, Ms Dunn said.

Ms Dunn said she knew how "invaluable" the unit would be to people in Sheffield

According to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the unit, whose work got under way last year, dealt with standard diagnostic endoscopy as well as advanced therapies.

Those included endoscopic ultrasound, bowel cancer screening and advanced polypectomy, which removes difficult-to-access polyps from the gastrointestinal tract, a trust spokesperson said.

It was also a national referral centre for small bowel disorders as well as procedures known as double balloon endoscopies and capsule endoscopies, they added.

'Modern design'

Dr Alex Ball, the unit's clinical lead, said patient care had been at the forefront of the unit's design.

"There is much greater room for patient admission, recovery and discharge as well as space for education," he said.

"The modern design and enhanced facilities provide a pleasant environment for patients visiting the unit.”

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals now had one of the largest gastrointestinal units in the UK, according to the trust spokesperson.

It was also one of 20 centres globally to have been recognised as a World Endoscopy Organisation Centre of Excellence, they said.

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