THE consultant who runs the pain clinic at Malvern Community Hospital is taking to the saddle to boost the Malvern Gazette’s Ease The Pain appeal.

Dr Mahesh Chaudhari will be taking part in the Shakespeare 100 – a 100-mile ride in the countryside around Stratford-on- Avon on Sunday, September 8.

His efforts will raise funds for the Ease The Pain campaign – which is being backed by your Malvern Gazette and aims to raise £60,000 to pay for a C-arm image intensifer to be used in Dr Chaudhari’s clinic.

The device will allow painkilling injections to be placed with great precision to ensure they are as effective as possible.

The scanner will benefit patients with conditions such as back pain, neck pain and sciatica, who currently have to travel to clinics in Kidderminster or Evesham to receive their treatments.

Dr Chaudhari is a keen cyclist who recently rode from London to Paris, so he said he was ready for the rigours of the Shakespeare 100 trek.

“The route takes in the Cotswolds, so it will be much more hilly than London to Paris,” he said.

Maureen Williams, of the Friends of Malvern Community Hospital group, said: “We’re delighted that Dr Chaudhari is doing this for us, and we hope he achieves a splendid time and raises lots of money for the scanner appeal.”

A spokesman for the Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust said it was backing the bid to raise the money.

“We know how important and well valued services are at Malvern Community Hospital and wish all fund-raising schemes and initiatives the best of luck in their drive to raise money to fund this piece of equipment,” he said.