Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase access to Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography scans for cancer diagnosis.

The Government is committed to increasing access to Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) scans and other nuclear medicine for cancer diagnosis, primarily by boosting overall diagnostic capacity.

As part of the diagnostic capital allocation from the Spending Reviews between 2021 and 2026, five schemes have been funded to replace aged computed tomography or SPECT-CT scanners with new SPECT-CT scanners for a total investment of £6.2 million. The benefits include increased throughput of patients, lower radiation doses, faster scans, reduced sedation of patients, and improved image quality.

SPECT-CT bids are also within the scope of the 2026 Spending Review multi-year diagnostic capital process, which is ongoing.