Cutting-edge radiotherapy machines to improve cancer care
Patients are set to benefit from faster and safer cancer treatment, thanks to two new cutting-edge radiotherapy machines at Charing Cross Hospital. The linear accelerator (linac) machines will be operational in 2026 and replace two existing machines which are at the end of their lifespan (we have five machines in total). By introducing the new machines one at a time, we will ensure that there is no disruption to our cancer services during the installation process.
The new technology is part of a £70million Government investment to roll out machines to every region of the country, prioritising hospitals with ageing equipment, in order to improve cancer care. We are one of six NHS Trusts in London to secure part of this investment, which will contribute to our wider estate improvement plan.
The machines are equipped with more enhanced imaging capabilities, which will allow our teams to provide more personalised treatment. They are also compatible with Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) cancer treatments, which is a more intensive way of precisely targeting tumours and can reduce the number of times patients need to come to hospital. They are particularly effective at targeting cancers in harder to treat areas, such as the chest, abdomen and pelvis.
We have a highly skilled onsite radiotherapy engineering team who quickly fix any issues with our two ageing machines and reduce chances of equipment issues causing delays. Replacing the two oldest machines, which will both soon be over 10 years old, will make our service even more resilient and also mean that we can save money on urgent repairs.
Our radiotherapy service is the main NHS provider of radiotherapy treatments in north west London. We are a specialist centre for cranial stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), which is an advanced form of radiotherapy used in the treatment of brain cancers and for total body irradiation for blood and lymphatic cancers. We’ve been at the forefront of implementing new treatments, including SABR and Surface Guided Radiotherapy (SGRT), which is a technique to support treatment of breast cancers. With the support of a grant from Imperial Health Charity, we have also introduced AI to improve the efficiency of our radiotherapy planning pathway.
Alongside improving cancer treatment, we have also been improving our diagnostic capacity by replacing an ageing MRI scanner at Charing Cross earlier this year and have plans to replace two further scanners soon. There are also three new NHS Community Diagnostic Centres in north west London, two of which are run by our Trust.
Claire Hardiman, head of radiation physics and radiobiology and consultant clinical scientist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “This is very good news for patients and staff alike. We are proud of our history of being able to offer the latest treatments to our patients and are delighted that we'll now be able to improve our service with this cutting-edge technology.
"The new technology will allow us to provide more personalised and targeted treatments, improving both outcomes and experience for our patients. I hope it will also help us provide faster treatment and reduce the chance of outdated equipment causing delays.
“Huge thank you to everyone involved in helping to apply for and secure this funding - and to our teams of radiographers, engineers and physicists who are working hard to implement these new linacs for the benefit of our patients."
Eric Munro, director of estates and facilities at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: "We want to provide the best possible care and environment for all our patients and are really pleased to be able to introduce these cutting-edge radiotherapy machines.
"We will introduce one machine at a time, aiming for the first to be operational in by Christmas with the second installation being complete before the end of our financial year. This will mean that we ensure we have five machines operational throughout and that there's no disruption to our service.
"Thanks to the radiotherapy team for being ready to jump on this opportunity so quickly and to our capital projects and estates and facilities teams for their support in planning these complex works, which will also include refurbishment of the rooms where the machines will be based."
Find out more about our wider efforts to improve our estate.
