Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the £525 million allocated to replace diagnostic equipment has been dedicated to (1) replace outdated MRI scans, and (2) improve access to multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging, to support the diagnosis of prostate cancer.
This investment is designed to benefit a range of cancer pathways. To date, over £100 million has been allocated to replace outdated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, of which almost £90 million included hardware able to perform multi-parametric resonance imaging and support the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Replacing aged MRI assets supports the prostate cancer pathway through higher quality imaging, increased availability of MRI and reduced duplication of imaging for patients. This investment is in addition to the routine replacement of MRI machines, which NHS Providers is funding through its annual operational capital allocation.