09 April 2004
Independent health care companies have been invited to bid for contracts to supply the NHS with an extra 80,000 diagnostic scans a year.
On April 2, the Department of Health announced that the NHS was on track to ensure that by the end of March no one had waited more than nine months for an operation. It hopes the increase in diagnostic capacity will ensure patients get on to waiting lists quicker.
The tender, published on April 8, invites bids for mobile magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, which can help diagnose many cancers, epilepsy and coronary heart disease.
Successful bidders will supply the equipment and staff, increasing NHS capacity by 10% over the five-year contract period.
Though the health service has invested in new scanners, demand exceeds capacity in many parts of England.
A department spokeswoman said that the procurement would be fast-tracked. The MRI scanners would need to be mobile to improve access in areas of greatest need.
In February, 19,400 patients had waited longer than nine months, but the department pointed out that the target should still be met as the NHS admits around 15,000 patients a day.
Health minister John Hutton said reduced waiting was a result of hard work and investment. 'There will be no let-up in momentum as we look to the future. These figures also confirm that we are on track to make sure that nobody should have to wait more than six months for an operation by the end of 2005,' he added.
l Patients' right to choose where and when they are treated will mean nothing without better information, the NHS was warned this week.
Under the Choice initiative, patients who need an operation will be able to choose between four or five hospitals (including private units) by December 2005. In some pilot areas, patients are already being offered a choice in some specialisms, such as cardiac and cataract operations.
In a Mori survey carried out for the Department of Health, three-quarters of patients wanted to be more involved in decisions about their treatment but almost nine in ten said they needed more information to do so.
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