MORE staff can be trained to look for signs of cervical cancer at a hospital in North Yorkshire thanks to a revolutionary microscope.

The microscope, at York General Hospital, was paid for with funds donated to York Health Services NHS Trust, and is being used by practice nurses in North Yorkshire undergoing their smear test training.

Trevor Hair, head biomedical scientist in cytology for the York Health NHS Trust, said: "In order to recognise cell abnormalities that indicate the presence of cervical cancer and other pre-malignant conditions, students need to be taught on a one-to-one basis. With this microscope we can teach up to ten students at once.

"It began in July 2000, when we received £199,000 from the Government to build a new laboratory.

"A further charitable donation of £8,000 allowed us to buy an additional five heads for the multi-header microscope, allowing us to train more staff at any one time."

The microscope is in a cytology training laboratory, which concentrates on the study of single cells rather than body tissues.

The laboratory was completed in February as part of a scheme to centralise cervical screening across North Yorkshire.

The microscope has already helped the first set of five trainee cytoscreeners to pass their cervical cytology exam.

They are now qualified to screen cervical smears as part of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme.