PLANS to provide the people of Fleetwood with the most up-to-date medical facilities have been strengthened with a £55,000 donation.

The port-based Lofthouse Foundation has pledged to invest cash in the new Fleetwood Hospital which will mean residents will no longer have to travel to Blackpool's Victoria Hospital for many treatments.

Part of the money, £12,000, has been earmarked for the refurbishment of a snoozelen room in the elderly mentally ill unit.

This is a sensory chamber with neon lights, soft music, fibre optic sprays and tubular bells to help severely agitated patients.

The rest of the donation will be used to buy the most up-to-date equipment within podiatry, gynaecology and urology.

Doreen Lofthouse from the Lofthouse Foundation commented: "Why should Fleetwood people have all the inconvenience of travelling to Blackpool for minor surgery? The more efficient the hospital, the more it will benefit the town and bring help to the community."

Philip Scully, chief executive of the Fylde Community Health Trust which runs the hospital, said the trust was indebted to the Lofthouse Foundation, adding: "To provide the best possible services in a new, light and comfortable building, it is crucial to have access to the latest medical technology.

"The provision of a snoozelen room for our elderly patients, whose needs are so often passed over, is the icing on the cake.

"We can now honestly say we are providing the most up-to-date service for Fleetwood people almost on their own doorstep."

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