THE threatened urology service at a Kent city hospital has been saved.

The service at Kent and Canterbury Hospital at Canterbury had been under threat following a recommendation to transfer prostate and bladder cancer surgery to Maidstone or Gillingham hospitals.

Now the Kent and Medway Urology Steering Group had decided that there should be two urology centres in Kent, one in the west of the county and one in the east at Kent and Canterbury.

The news has been greeted with delight by Canterbury MP Julian Brazier.

"The urology department at Kent and Canterbury is a centre of excellence which has saved lives and healed many desperately sick people," he said.

"Closure would have meant very long journeys for those who can least manage it. This decision should be welcomed by everyone who lives in east Kent."

Stuart Bain, the chief executive of the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust said: "This will allow us to continue to provide high quality services for the people of east Kent and use the opportunity to look at how we can further improve our services."