NHS equipment and services receive £330m boost
Money saved through NHS efficiencies is being reinvested into services, facilities and equipment, the Department of Health has announced.
Of the £330m found, £72m will go towards urgent care facilities, including new operating theatres in East Lancashire and Hillingdon, an upgrade for St Helier Hospital and a new A&E department at the North West London Trust.
Additionally, £30m will fund hospital facilities, including a new paediatric unit, £30m will provide diagnostic equipment and CT scanners and £16m will improve maternity services and equipment. £6m is set to improve cancer care and screening.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: “It will ensure millions of people see better buildings, better equipment, and brand new facilities and services as well as saving thousands of lives.”
Health secretary Andrew Lansley said: “By reinvesting the money we have saved we are able to put over £330m into projects that will help over two and a half million patients per year.
“Ensuring patients have access to the best quality equipment and services is essential in a modern NHS that strives to put patients first. This investment will mean that old facilities are re-vamped, there is more world class equipment in NHS hospitals and more patients get the scans and treatment that they need.”
David Stout, deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “This is good news for a number of NHS organisations, which should help meet some of the increasing costs of technology and facilities.
“But on its own it won’t alter the big picture which is that the NHS faces many years of serious financial pressure. We have to grasp the nettle of serious change to services if the NHS is to stay in the black.”
