£130m to upgrade radiotherapy machines

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens has announced a £130 million fund to modernise radiotherapy care across England.

Approximately 40 per cent of all NHS cancer patients, roughly 130,000, are treated with radiotherapy, which typically uses high-energy radiation from a machine called a linear accelerator. Radiotherapy is considered one of the three main cancer treatments, alongside cancer surgery and chemotherapy.

With the new funding, older linear accelerator used by hospitals will be upgraded or replaced over the next two years. The investment is expected to pay for over 100 replacements or upgrades of radiotherapy machines in hospitals around England.

New machines are more accurate and can deliver a higher dose to the cancer cells, which will reduce the amount of time a patient has to spend in radiotherapy and hopefully increase cure rates.

It is reported that linear accelerator machines should be updated after 10 years, although such an upgrade has not been seen in the NHS since the early 2000s.

Stevens said: “Up to half of NHS cancer patients who are cured benefit from radiotherapy. Today we’re kickstarting the biggest single upgrade in NHS cancer treatment for at least the last fifteen years. Modern linear accelerators and software will mean hundreds of thousands of patients across England will now benefit from huge advances in precision cancer treatment.”

Cally Palmer, national director for Cancer at NHS England, and chief executive of the Royal Marsden Hospital, added: “Cancer survival rates in this country have never been higher, and we’re seeing more people than ever come forward with symptoms – over 1.7 million referrals for urgent NHS investigation were made by GPs last year. Today’s announcement about action over the next two years is a decisive launch of our five year programme to modernise radiotherapy services – so that all patients have access to the very best technology available.”

However, the Royal College of Radiologists have argued that the investment was not enough. In March, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced a £50 million investment in radiotherapy services - an investment that equates to more funding per person that the NHS England funding.

Dr Jeanette Dickson, vice president, clinical oncology, said: “Although the funding announced is to be welcomed, if the government wishes to achieve world class cancer outcomes by 2020, significantly more investment in radiotherapy services is required at least up to the equivalent level announced for Scotland.”