§ 7. Dr. Brian Iddon (Bolton, South-East) (Lab)How many additional scanners have been provided in the NHS in the last year; and how many of these are in the north-west. [182187]
§ The Secretary of State for Health (Dr. John Reid)Forty-five scanners—29 CT and 16 MRI scanners— were delivered to the NHS through centrally funded programmes in 2003–04. Of those, six were delivered to NHS trusts in the north-west. In addition, we announced last week that NHS MRI scanning capacity will be increased by a further 15 per cent. as a result of procuring 12 state-of-the-art mobile units from the private sector. Three of those will be based in the north-west.
§ Dr. IddonI welcome that news. The New Opportunities Fund has provided the Royal Bolton hospital with a new —700,000 scanner, which will detect cancers. Unfortunately, it is being used only for six half-day sessions a week because the hospital cannot provide suitably trained staff who can interpret the images from the scanner. What account is my right hon. Friend taking of the budgets necessary to staff the new scanners? Can he please comment on the provision of adequately trained staff?
§ Dr. ReidIn terms of the budgets, even our most churlish critic would accept that an increase in the Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust budget from about £108 million to £130 million between 1999 and this year is a significant increase in revenue funding. As to the scanners themselves, my hon. Friend will be aware that one MRI scanner was delivered last year and I believe that two CT scanners are scheduled to be delivered in the next couple of years. In terms of staff, yes, it is 678 difficult. We are expanding NHS staff and 84 per cent. of them are involved in direct patient care, despite the constant refrain from Conservative Members that everyone in the NHS is a useless unproductive bureaucrat. It is difficult to get radiologists, but I can tell my hon. Friend that there are more radiology staff than ever before. Since 1997, the number of clinical radiologists has increased by 26 per cent. and the number of diagnostic radiographers by 13 per cent. We will boost those figures further by an additional £3 million investment.
§ Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley) (Con)The Secretary of State for Health has mentioned mobile scanners. Will he ensure that they will be made available to rural areas around the north-west of England, including Clitheroe in Ribble Valley, whose needs are as great as in any other place? Will he also ensure that trained staff will be made available to local residents so that they secure the level of service that they are paying for?
§ Dr. ReidWe are certainly trying to do that. The point of having mobile scanners is not just to add to capacity, although the announcement last week by the Minister of State, Department of Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton) spoke of adding some 500,000 to 600,000 scans to our capacity over the next few years, which is an enormous increase. The fact that they are mobile means that they can be taken to the places where the needs are greatest and also to rural areas. There will be two mobile units in London, two in north-east Yorkshire and Humber, three in the north-west and west midlands, two in the east midlands and the east and three in the south. That, to adopt the word of the morning, is cause to celebrate, not least in Leicester where two MRI scanners have already been delivered and Birmingham where three MRI scanners and nine CT scanners have been delivered.