NHS England has been branded “scandalous” after it emerged that five life saving cancer machines are not being replaced because they were purchased by charities under the Tories. An MP said the decision will see some patients dying. In a complex situation it emerged last night that under Tory cuts hospitals were only able to buy the five super robotic cyberknife machines with charity money. Now they all need to be replaced this year, NHS England said they aren’t in a position to replace them.
In an exclusive interview with Mirror Online Lib-Dem MP Tessa Munt said there needed to be a change of policy. She said: 'This is a classic case of a lack of joined up thinking by executives in NHS England. There are just five of these special cyberknife machines in the UK - all used by the NHS to treat patients - but because they were all originally purchased with charity donations, NHS England won't replace them as they reach the end of their working lives. This is a scandalous situation.'.
Ms Munt, who has long campaigned to get cancer victims a better deal, added: "Cancer patients are dying early because of bureaucracy and the decision making of NHS England. They could be saved if these machines were allowed to be bought and used like in other countries. This is a bad decision and will cost lives. I urge them to reconsider.". The cyberknife machines - which cost £2.3m each - are located in Birmingham and London. Already one of those in London has been mothballed and is now being used for spare parts. Munt said: "London could have the last remaining cyberknife in England by the end of the year. It’s outrageous that soon there will be more in use in countries like Poland, Colombia, Pakistan and Iran than the UK. There is something very wrong here - and cancer patients are paying the price for an illogical approach to treating this dreadful disease.".
