Wells MP Tessa Munt challenges the Secretary of State for Health over cancer patients being denied the latest treatment.

In an adjournment debate which took place in the main chamber of the House of Commons last week, Wels MP Tessa Munt, revealed the results of a freedom of information survey she has conducted amongst all of the UKs cancer centres to establish how many of them provide the latest radiotherapy treatments to cancer patients.

She said "I have been trying to establish how much the NHS is using the latest radiotherapy techniques to help cure cancer patients in this country. I have asked some 50 parliamentary questions and received not a single satisfactory answer."

Conventional radiotherapy uses large beams of radiation, takes a long time to kill cancer tumours and often damages healthy tissue in the process. The newest form of treatment, Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Treatment (SBRT), uses small, multiple and highly focused beams of energy that delivers radiation directly on to the tumour and avoids damage to healthy tissue. 

She added "In the US, and for our neighbours in Europe, SBRT is fast become the standard against which treatment for cancer patients is measured. The Secretary of State for Health told me in the House of Commons that 20 high tech machines in 25% of our Centres provided SBRT. When I asked him for the evidence for this he didn't have any. So I decided to find out for myself."

All bar one of the cancer centres in the UK replied to Ms Munt's request which was for a wide range of information about SBRT. The results showed that the Secretary of State was wrong to claim that the NHS was making SBRT available to cancer patients.

Ms Munt went on to say "This survey shows that the Secretary of State for Health has little idea of how cancer patients are being treated in this country. There are nowhere near 20 machines delivering SBRT in the NHS. Equally, the idea that 25% of our cancer centres are providing this new treatment is fanciful." 

Details of the survey will be revealed by the MP as soon as possible.