CANCER patients at Guildford’s Royal Surrey County Hospital will benefit from a share in £130million investment in radiotherapy services by NHS England.

The trust is one of 15 across the country that will receive a new state-of-the-art radiotherapy machine as part of the scheme. The announcement was made by NHS England’s chief executive Simon Stevens at the Britain Against Cancer Conference, where he also outlined plans to invest an additional £200 million in cancer services over the next two years.

The trust currently runs seven Linac machines over two sites, which are used to treat 3,200 NHS patients each year. Across the entire NHS up to half the number of cancer patients who are cured, benefit from radiotherapy treatment.

The funding will allow the trust to replace a machine that is 11 years old with the latest model, enabling patients to benefit from the most up-to-date precision treatments.

It is hoped the new machine will be clinically operational in St Luke’s Cancer Centre by November 2017.

Consultant clinical oncologist Marianne Illsley said: “Modern radiotherapy plays a vital role, not only in survival, but also relieving the symptoms of cancer patients.

“This new investment will ensure that our patients continue to benefit from the latest advances in precision treatment.”

Chief executive Paula Head added: “We are delighted to receive a share of the funding from NHS England to upgrade one of our radiotherapy machines.