REVOLUTIONARY services are on offer for ear, nose and throat patients in the county thanks to a £1million revamp.Ipswich hospital is the first in the country to operate a nurse-specialist led laryngoscopy clinic, which is helping to slash waiting times from more than 100 days to between five and ten.

REVOLUTIONARY services are on offer for ear, nose and throat patients in the county thanks to a £1million revamp.

Ipswich hospital is the first in the country to operate a nurse-specialist led laryngoscopy clinic, which is helping to slash waiting times from more than 100 days to between five and ten.

And new technology, with more services in the community means that patients are getting treatment within weeks rather than months.

Nearly £1million of Government money was spent on providing nine new rooms at the Ear, Nose and Throat clinic at Ipswich Hospital as well as new services in the community.

MP Chris Mole believes the clinic and the hospital itself is a real role model.

He said: "They are a role model not just for ENT in Ipswich but to show that the way services are developing the NHS can become a world leader."

The new nurse led laryngoscopy clinic means that a specialist nurse can look into the nasal and throat area of patients with a camera on the end of a fibre-optic tube.

Sound proofed rooms have also been added at the Heath Road site so hearing tests are not disturbed by noises in corridors.

Rooms for testing skin allergies, which can cause nasal problems, were also part of the overhaul, along with improvements to the patient waiting areas.

State of the art equipment in audiology clinics at some doctors surgeries in Ipswich and Felixstowe mean patients no longer have to wait for appointments with consultants.

A video-oto machine can take pictures of inside the ear and then, if needed, the pictures can be transmitted by a lap-top to the consultants at Ipswich Hospital who can make sure that everything is as it should be.

Matthew Yung, lead consultant for ear, nose and throat services at Ipswich Hospital said: "This can help us check for the early stages of disease.

"If we see a picture with signs of disease on we can then call them in to see us. (the consultants).

"If there is a problem they are able to see us within a couple of weeks rather than six months."

Mr Yung, who is also clinical director for specialist services at the Trust, said waits for ENT services had fallen dramatically, unlike in other parts of the region.

He said: "More people are seen more quickly and the work of community based services means that people are often seen closer to where they live.

"Hospital based colleagues now have more time to devote to patients who are in most need of specialist investigations, diagnosis and treatment."