Thousands of cancer patients will get faster diagnosis thanks to a multi-million pound programme to provide more hi-tech scans announced by UK Health Minister Rosie Winterton today.

She announced �20 million extra capital investment for the NHS over two years from 2006/07 to build new PET-CT scanning facilities.

The scans - Positron Emission Tomography - Computer Tomography (PET-CT) scans - have a proven clinical benefit in both the diagnosis and staging of a number of cancers. Combining PET with CT allows doctors to see exactly where tumours are and whether or not they are active. This rapidly evolving technology will also benefit patients with neurological conditions and cardiac disease as its use becomes more widespread.

The scanners will be a mix of fixed site and mobile facilities. There are currently seven fixed-location scanners routinely available for NHS patients in England, all located in London and the South East except for one in Birmingham.

Rosie Winterton also announced new NHS guidelines to ensure that faster treatment is experienced across the country and to further tackle the 'postcode lottery'.

It is estimated that around 40,000 PET scans will be needed each year by 2007/08 and this demand is likely to increase when more evidence becomes available of the benefits of the technology. Currently, around 10,500 PET scans are undertaken in the NHS annually.

Rosie Winterton said:

"The NHS Cancer Plan is delivering results - more investment and more staff have led to cancer death rates falling across the board. However, we need to do more to speed up treatment even further.

"This new equipment will provide thousands of extra scans. Investment in scanning facilities will mean faster treatment for patients in locations where they are most needed."

Since the publication of the Cancer Plan in 2000, over �500 million has been spent on new cancer equipment - most being provided where it is most needed.

For example, two out of every three linear accelerators, which provide radiotherapy treatment for cancer patients, have been allocated to cancer centres in the north of England to redress the north-south divide, and additional CT scanners have been provided to local populations which have had poorer access.

Professor Mike Richards, National Clinical Director for Cancer said:

"To support the implementation of this extra scanning capacity, we have drawn up a new set of national guidelines to ensure that health authorities provide the best possible care for patients. This framework provides guidance to commissioners and potential service providers on the development of PET services and ensures that there is equal access to scans for patients across the country.

"We have taken advice on projected demand from professional bodies such as the Royal College of Radiologists and have balanced this against the time it takes time to plan, build and install new PET facilities."

Dr Jesme Baird, Director of Patient Care at the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation said:

"For almost two years, the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, with Macmillan Cancer Relief and others, has been highlighting the desperate need for more PET scanners across the country. Research shows that in lung cancer, PET scanners are of major importance in deciding the best course of treatment, cutting down the number of unnecessary operations. We warmly welcome this announcement today. It represents a start in ensuring that more patients who will directly benefit from this technology will actually be able to access it."

Some 25,000 extra PET scans will also be procured from the independent sector as part of the procurement for diagnostic tests announced in February 2005.

A clinical PET service is expensive. Each scanner costs around �2 to �2.5m. A cyclotron, which is necessary to produce isotopes (radioactive pharmaceuticals) for the scan, costs around �3m to �3.5m.

The national guidelines set out: current provision of scanning; estimated demand for scans; advice to commissioners on estimated costs; guidance to SHAs; specialised commissioning groups and cancer networks to determine the optimal location for facilities; workforce implications; and the role of the independent sector.
 

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