30.10.19
78 NHS trusts will receive new cancer testing and detective technology
The new machines will increase early diagnosis of cancer and improve screening. This is part of the government’s pledge to ensure 55, 000 more people survive cancer each year.
An extra £200 million was announced last month by the Prime Minister for funding for new cancer screening equipment. 78 trusts will receive funding over the next 2 years to replace, refurbish and improve CT and MRI scanners, bringing in the option for lower radiation level scans and breast screening and imaging and assessment equipment.
Replacing and upgrading machines will improve efficiency by making them easier to use, being quicker to scan and construct images and reducing the need to re-scan.
Installing new equipment will also bring new capability, with many machines enabled for artificial intelligence so the NHS is ready for the challenges of the future.
Each of the 78 trusts has been allocated funding for new machines based on assessment of local infrastructure and local population need. They will all contribute to the NHS Long Term Plan’s goal of catching three-quarters of all cancers earlier when they are easier to treat.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “This new state-of-the-art equipment for 78 trusts across England will ensure doctors and clinicians can help even more people survive a cancer diagnosis and stop the disease as early as possible.
“It’s mission critical that the technology our NHS uses to prevent and diagnose cancer is brought into the 21st century. We have backed the roll-out of these new machines with £200 million in funding, as part of our Long-Term Plan, backed by an extra £33.9 billion a year.”
Cally Palmer, National Cancer Director at NHS England said: “Cancer survival is at a record high thanks to better prevention, earlier diagnosis and world-leading treatments in the NHS.
“This major investment in the best modern scanning technology will benefit patients in every part of England, helping us to achieve the NHS Long Term Plan’s ambitions of catching tens of thousands more cancers earlier when they are easier to treat, saving 55,000 more lives every year.”