Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust will be given a share of a multi-million pound funding injection announced by the Health Secretary to upgrade cancer testing and detection technology.

This follows the Prime Minister’s announcement of an extra £200million in funding last month for new, state of the art cancer screening equipment. 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.

Walsall Healthcare is among 78 trusts which will be able to receive funding over the next two 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 as they are easier to use, they scan and construct images quicker, and reduce the need to re-scan. This will improve patient experience and will lead to earlier diagnosis, which is vital to saving lives.

This new equipment also brings new capability, with many machines AI enabled so the NHS is ready for the challenges of the future.

Karen Dunderdale, Walsall Healthcare’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Nursing said: “We’re hopeful that we will be able to purchase a new CT scanner for our imaging department at Walsall Manor Hospital as a result of the funding announcement made by Matt Hancock.

“This is good news for the Walsall patients of all ages who use our services and we’re now awaiting confirmation of full funding details with a view to being able to install a replacement in 2020.”

Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, said: “This new state-of-the-art equipment for NHS trusts 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 bought into the twenty first 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.”

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.