THE Fylde Coast's fantastic MRI scanner appeal has been wound up after scoring a £1.9m success.

Now the director of fundraising, retired consultant surgeon Ramesh Gandhi, is turning his formidable persuasive talents to a new appeal to create state-of-the-art cancer treatment facilities at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Mr Gandhi wound up the three-year scanner appeal by presenting its remaining £462,080 to Victoria Hospital Charitable Fund, where it will be channelled straight into a special budget to maintain and upgrade the MRI and CAT scanners which local people worked so hard to achieve.

"Money is still coming in from events and legacies," said Mr Gandhi, "and it is being given to the hospital's charity fund to provide additional equipment, particularly to send scanner images to consultants in other hospitals for their opinions, and to increase the number of cases we can deal with each day."

More than 4,000 people have had CAT scans since it opened last May, and 1,420 have had MRI scans since it opened in August.

"I feel very humble and proud that local people supported this very worthy case so well," said Mr Gandhi. "We now have two modern pieces of equipment that so many people from the community are getting benefit from.

"I'd like to thank everyone who supported us - not least the local media - without them I don't think we would have achieved this in such a short time."

Victoria Hospital is setting up a new cancer treatment centre with five cancer specialists, which will mean Fylde patients no longer having to travel to Manchester or Preston for treatment.

The new appeal - yet to be named - will help provide a purpose-built consulting and examination department and a large comfortable waiting area and outpatients department.

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