STROUD General Hospital is at the cutting edge of medical technology thanks to a £2,400 donation from its League of Friends.

The hospital’s plaster room is one of the first in the country to feature a new Casterpillar cast remover.

Unlike a the traditional vibrating sawblade, it allows plaster casts to be removed with no risk of abrasions or burns and little noise or dust.

Plaster room nurse and orthopaedic practitioner Jo Standing said: “This cutter was designed by a retired orthopaedic surgeon and has only just come on the market, so it’s a fantastic addition to the equipment at the hospital.

“Instead of a vibrating blade it has a mechanical shear which cuts through the plaster very quietly and without any risk of damaging the skin with a blade or any build-up of heat.

“For certain groups of people, such as children, the saw can be quite intimidating, and this makes the process much more comfortable for the patient.”

Jo gave a demonstration of the new device to members of the League of Friends with schoolgirl Alice volunteering to have a cast applied and removed to showcase the machine.

The cut the machine makes creates almost no plaster dust so there is no need for a noisy vacuum attachment, and it is designed to be used by both right and left-handed clinicians.

Matron Juliette Richardson thanked the Friends for the donation on behalf of hospital staff.