State of the art ultraviolet light therapy unveiled at Hereford County Hospital (From Hereford Times)

State of the art ultraviolet light therapy unveiled at Hereford County Hospital

7:00am Friday 25th November 2011 in Health

PAULA Warr and Angela Davies make a difference to lives behind the scenes nearly every day at Hereford County Hospital.

Now it’s their turn to step into the light.

Paula and Angela are the county’s specialist phototherapy nurses, treating patients with severe, debilitating skin conditions.

This week, that treatment takes on a new look as the pair work with state of the art ultraviolet (UV) light therapy technology.

About 300 patients a year from Herefordshire are now treated with around 30 sessions over up to eight weeks with UV therapy for severe conditions such as psoriasis and eczema.

Given these numbers, dermatology services at Wye Valley NHS Trust are expanding and the new 7ft tall ‘stand-up’ UV light therapy unit – one of the few available in the country – allows the team to treat the whole body to a range of heights.

Paula says the unit offers the ability to not only increase the number of patients but make their treatment more effective, with pre-programmable courses for individual patients.

Katina Williams-Jones, one of the first patients to benefit from the unit, told the Hereford Times it made her treatment much easier.

“I can see a timer inside to know how long my treatment has to run, which gives me more control over my treatment and it also has built-in fans to keep itchy skin cool,” she said.

But all the technology is nothing without the human touch, said Katina, saluting Paula and Angela’s support to patients that went “beyond the call of duty”.