West Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital to benefit from investment in breast cancer screening

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSNFT) will benefit from a national £10 million Government investment in breast cancer screening.

It has been confirmed that the trust which runs West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket Hospital, will receive funding for a new unit and also upgrades to two of its existing ones.

Ipswich Hospital will receive a live remote access upgrade, meaning the mobile unit will be able to send images back to the hospital virtually.

Following the Government announcement, Minster of State for Health Helen Whately said: "Catching cancer early saves lives, last year 100,000 people were diagnosed with cancer at stages one and two.

"This is the highest proportion on record but we want to do better still.

"These breast cancer screening units will mean more people can get checked for cancer, closer to home."

She continued: "Most people will get the reassurance of an all-clear but for those who are diagnosed, catching their cancer early is the best thing we can do- and get them on the path to early treatment too."

The Government said new mobile units across the country, will target areas which will 'most benefit from increased opportunities for screening'.

Two units at WSNFT will benefit from upgrades to their live remote access and hardware and software.

Funding is now in place for NHS trusts to spend within the 2022/23 financial year but the Government said 'timing for delivery of the units will be individual to each trust'.

They added that Breast Screening Offices are running extra screening sessions to clear any remaining backlog on mammogram appointments.

The NHS Breast Screening Programme offers all women in England between the ages of 50 and their 71st birthday, the opportunity to be screened every three years for breast cancer.

General manager for breast services at Ipswich Hospital, Allison Chaplin said: "We welcome the news that our mobile unit which travels around East Suffolk will be receiving a technology upgrade as part of this programme."

She added: "This will allow staff at the unit to send images back to the hospital virtually, in turn improving efficiency."

Earlier this month a new Breast Care Centre was opened at Ipswich Hospital.

Paul Molyneux, medical director at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Receiving an additional breast cancer screening unit is great news for the community of west Suffolk.

“The extra unit means we will have more capacity to screen people across various locations in the county.

"We know how important screening for breast cancer is in reducing the number of deaths from the disease and we encourage anyone who has been invited for breast screening to attend their appointment.”