Today it has been announced that the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth will receive funding to upgrade and replace its existing cancer screening technology.
Portsmouth NHS Trust will receive a share of £200 million for CT and MRI scanners and breast screening equipment to help improve efficiency, ensuring quicker and earlier diagnosis of patients.
QA Hospital has received funding as it has been recognised by the government as having two CT scanners and three mammography machines that are over 10 years old. Overall, 78 NHS Trusts across the country will receive a share of the funding based on an assessment of local infrastructure and population need.
Local MP, Caroline Dinenage, commented:
“We all know someone, friends and family, who have been affected by cancer. With one in two of us expected to be diagnosed at some point in our life, early diagnosis is key to ensuring that we keep survival rates high.
“It is fantastic news that QA Hospital will benefit from new cancer screening equipment, helping local residents get the screening they need quickly. I know that the Secretary of State Matt Hancock is committed to protecting and improving our National Healthcare Service and I am pleased that he has recognised and addressed Portsmouth’s needs."
Since 2010 rates of survival from cancer have increased year-on-year, showing that around 7000 people are alive today due to higher mortality rates.
In October 2018 the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, announced measures that aimed to see three quatres of all cancers detected at an early stage by 2018 through new investment, technology and screening programmes. In the NHS Long Term Plan, the government further committed to ensuring that 55 000 more people survive cancer each year, a key part of which is early diagnosis.
Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has continued to show his commitment to fighting cancer by last month announcing an extra £200 million for cancer screening equipment - which Portsmouth is benefitting from - and an additional £33.9 billion investment in the NHS by 2023/24 which will significantly support effects to improve cancer services.
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.”