RCR calls for vital capital investment for cancer and diagnostics

Ahead of the much-anticipated budget on 30 October, the President of The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves. 

In the letter, Dr Katharine Halliday calls for targeted investment in diagnostics and cancer care following Lord Darzi’s stark review of the NHS. The review highlighted the years of chronic underinvestment, particularly in NHS capital budgets.

If the Government is to reduce stubbornly long waits for care and create an NHS fit for the future, action is needed now. 

In addition to highlighting the importance of the workforce and dangerous shortfalls in clinical radiology and oncology, the letter calls on the Government to: 

1. Support NHS England to complete the rollout of iRefer Clinical Decision Support (CDS) to all trust to drive productivity.
2. Allocate £158 million to finalise the Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) Programme to expand diagnostic capacity and drive down waiting times.
3. Support capital investment in cancer, including £110.8 million to replace the 64 Linear Accelerator (linac) machines in NHS England that are over 10 years old.

Look out for the RCR’s full response to the budget which will be published on our website after 30 October.