SILLY ties were the order of the day at a hospital yesterday - although there was a serious reason behind the stunt.
Staff at Harrogate District Hospital took part in the fifth annual Loud Tie campaign to help raise awareness of bowel cancer.
Literature produced by the Beating Bowel Cancer campaign was available at an information point in the foyer.
The illness affects about 35,000 people every year and kills about 50 per cent. If it is diagnosed in time, it is one of the easiest forms of cancer to treat.
The high mortality rate is often because sufferers are too embarrassed to discuss their symptoms with a doctor.
"The first step to saving lives is to start talking about the disease out loud and that is just what hospital staff aim to do," said the hospital's colorectal clinical nurse, Margaret Jennings.
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