28 October 2009
The news presenter and broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald visited Epsom Hospital on Tuesday (20 October) to present a brand new piece of equipment to the histopathology department (where tissue samples are tested for a wide range of conditions, including cancers).
Sir Trevor visited the Trust to present a writer machine - a state-of-the-art device that prints a unique patient identification number and barcode on tissue samples - on behalf of the Epsom Medical Equipment Fund.
Sir Trevor, who has a strong connection with the hospital, said: "My father-in-law lived in Epsom and was a patient at the hospital many times. We owe the kind members of staff who work here a huge thank you for the care they provided, and so it's a pleasure to be here, presenting this machine.
"My father-in-law was the sort of man who would never want to come to hospital, but once he got here he didn't want to leave."
The machine, which is officially called LEICA IP C histology cassette printer, cost £11,500.
Consultant histopathologist, Dr Louis Temple said: "Every specimen that is processed in the histopathology department is assigned a unique identification number which we previously wrote on by hand. This new writer is a fantastic piece of equipment that will not only save us time, but is the most accurate way possible of coding our tissue samples. We're very grateful to Sir Trevor for presenting the machine and to the Epsom Medical Equipment Fund for raising the money to pay for it."
Bess Harding, the fund co-ordinator for Epsom Medical Equipment Fund, said: "We were delighted to welcome Sir Trevor and his family to the hospital. It was a great honour that he came to present the new writer to the staff in the department, which we were very pleased to donate to the hospital."
Epsom Medical Equipment Fund, formed in 1979 (as Epsom Endoscopy Fund, later renamed) has raised over £3 million to buy items for Epsom Hospital, ranging from a £230,000 CT scanner to a £17 specially shaped pillow.
