Thank you for contacting me about breast cancer.
Please be assured that every effort is being made to continue raising awareness of breast cancer and to improve the treatment of all those diagnosed with this disease.
I want to provide reassurance that reducing waiting times for cancer treatment, including for breast cancer, is an urgent priority for the Government. As part of the 2021 Spending Review, £2.3 billion was allocated to improve diagnostic capacity over the following three years.
This will be supported by the Government’s Major Conditions Strategy. Following a recent call for evidence, the Strategy will be published in full in due course.
The Government is committed to ensuring that as many people as possible are diagnosed with breast cancer as soon as possible. Community Diagnostic Centres are also being established, which will be one-stop-shops for checks, scans and tests, helping those with suspected breast cancer to access earlier diagnostic tests closer to home.
On the Island, the Government is funding a new £10m Community Diagnostic Centre at St Mary’s, which will speed up vital tests, checks and scans helping drive down waiting lists and ultimately save more lives. St Mary’s is one of 20 hospitals benefiting from new Government funding to upgrade outdated facilities and equipment. This includes improvements worth £6.4m to the intensive care unit, a £12.2m new emergency care floor and £5.1m for acute bed reconfiguration as well as a £6.7m integrated mental health and community hub in Newport High Street. In addition, The Isle of Wight NHS has also been awarded a further £9m (in addition to the £12.5m already secured) to modernise digital technology, IT infrastructure and clinical systems.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.