Antony Higginbotham MP has welcomed the news that women in Burnley and Padiham will benefit from better diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer thanks to government investment.
Burnley General Hospital will receive hardware upgrades to radiography equipment, delivered this financial year. This upgrade will improve workforce efficiency improve uptake and coverage after the government pledged an additional £10 million for life-saving upgrades to services in areas where they are most needed.
These service upgrades will allow more women to be screened earlier, improving outcomes for patients. Screening will be focused in areas where it is most needed, tackling health disparities and improving diagnosis rates.
This investment will also help deliver a more accessible NHS where patients receive care close to home.
Burnley and Padiham MP Antony Higginbotham said:
We know that faster diagnosis results in better treatment and outcomes, so it’s brilliant to see Government backing our local NHS in Burnley with more funding to upgrade breast screening equipment at Burnley General Hospital.
This will result in women having quicker and improved screening for breast cancer, and comes on top of new endoscopy equipment at the Hospital to identify issues like throat cancer.
After we saw the Hospital lose facilities under the last Labour Government, we are now seeing investment increase and I’ll keep pushing for even more, including a new Radiology suite which would rapidly improve diagnosis for a while range of health issues. Because if that also comes to fruition, we will have state-of-the-art facilities from diagnosis, to surgery & treatment, to outpatient support, resulting in a much better service for patients locally.
Health Minister Helen Whately said:
A cancer diagnosis can be terrifying but it is vital that this cruel disease is detected as soon as possible and then treated.
It is also important that women can access high quality healthcare wherever they live and this investment helps deliver that.
These units mean more targeted services are available on people’s doorsteps ensuring we have the best chance at detecting and treating breast cancer.
The funding is now in place for NHS trusts to spend within the 2022/23 financial year and the timing for delivery of units will be individual to each trust.
The commitment to provide additional breast screening units was made in the Women’s Health Strategy published in July 2022 which is designed to improve equality of healthcare.
The government has also committed to improving diagnosis, treatment and survival rates as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. By 2028, the government has committed to 75% of people with cancer being diagnosed at stages 1 and 2, up from 55% and for 55,000 more people each year to survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis.
Each year more than two million women have breast cancer screening in the UK. Screening saves around 1,300 women every year with around 21,000 cancers detected. This investment in breast screening units will continue to increase capacity to detect and deliver life-saving treatment.
