The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock MP, has announced Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust will receive state-of-the-art MRI, CT and mammography screening machines, so our brilliant NHS staff have the tools they need to quickly diagnose cancer and boost survival rates.
The new machines will improve screening and early diagnosis of cancer, and are part of the government’s commitment to ensure 55,000 more people survive cancer each year.
Last month the Prime Minister announced the extra £200 million in funding for new cancer screening equipment. 78 trusts - including Buckinghamshire - will receive funding over the next 2 years to replace, refurbish and upgrade:
- CT and MRI scanners – bringing in alternatives with lower radiation levels
- breast screening imaging and assessment equipment
Replacing and upgrading machines will improve efficiency by:
- making them easier to use
- being quicker to scan and construct images
- reducing the need to re-scan
This new equipment also brings new capability, with many machines enabled for artificial intelligence (AI) so the NHS is ready for the challenges of the future.
Each trust has been allocated funding for new machines based on an 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 MP 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."
Greg Smith added: "The funding for this new equipment, on top of this Conservative Government's £394 million per week in extra cash the NHS will receive by the end of the next parliament, is great news for Buckinghamshire patients. This new equipment will go a long way to helping more cancer patients survive this horrible disease."
