by Sian Napier
snapier@thekmgroup.co.uk

An appeal to buy digital mammography machines for east Kent’s three acute hospitals has passed the halfway mark.

Charity fundraisers are celebrating the success of the East Kent Breast Cancer Mammography Appeal - this newspaper’s charity of the year - which, with support from local health charities and the public, has resulted in the buying of the machines for Canterbury, Margate and Ashford hospitals.

And by ordering all three machines at once the trust has saved money.

Although there is still a considerable way to go before the final £1.2 million needed is reached, these savings mean that the buying of some of the equipment can go ahead immediately.

At Kent & Canterbury Hospital more than £265,000 of the £370,000 needed has been raised, thanks mainly to donations of £215,500 from the League of Friends.

These donations were boosted by a generous legacy of £100,000 left to the league’s Nailbourne group (which is based in Bridge, Bekesbourne and Patrixbourne), by the late Frances Norris of Wingham.

This means that the machine at Kent & Canterbury Hospital will be up and running by Christmas.

League of Friends chairman Dr Stuart Field said: “This is a fantastic initial response from all our members and demonstrates the league’s commitment to this important appeal.

"However, there is still a long way to go and we must not relax in our efforts to raise all the money needed.”

Appeal chairman Jean Byers said: “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the public and the League of Friends.

"The appeal overall, including the substantial pledges, has raised more than £680,000 but the trust has also played its part, achieving a substantial reduction on the original estimates for the mammography machines in a very competitive market.

“We now need to save up to buy the monitors and all the other supporting equipment so that it all works together.

"So the target remains at £1.2 million which will enable us to buy more digital storage space, enabling us to store many more thousands of mammograms than was originally planned, so ensuring we will be well placed for the long-term future.”