Patients undergoing chemotherapy at Hereford County Hospital are set to benefit after a generous £20,000 donation from Raising the Roof for Renton. The money means that patients can now be offered a simpler process when having a permanent line (peripherally inserted central catheter – PICC line) in their arms for chemotherapy.

Until recently staff had to use an ultrasound machine to judge the size of a suitable vein and watch the needle entering the vein to ascertain where the line could be inserted.

But using the new equipment, hospital staff will be able to tell where the tip of the line is at all times and indicate if it is going in the right direction and make sure it is in the perfect position.

With this new method the patient will no longer need an X-ray after the procedure, which will save the patient time and discomfort.

Kathryn Williams, who led the committee to organise and host the event, said: “Everybody knows somebody that has been to the Macmillan Renton Unit. We asked what would be useful to the nursing team if they had the available funds and the PICC placer was mentioned, so we set about raising the £20,000 needed to buy it, not realising we would far exceed that amount.”

Anne Mitchell, acute oncology lead for the hospital, said: “Our patients are set to benefit hugely from this purchase and I would like to pass on our thanks and gratitude to Kathryn and the team for their hard work in raising the money.”

The dinner raised more than £30,000 in total, with the extra money going towards further equipment to assist the hospital’s urology department, which is looking to improve and advance the service provided to patients.