EXTRA cash for Great Western Hospital will pay for new machines to improve the screening and early diagnosis of cancer.

The NHS trust that runs the hospital is one of 78 around England that will share some of the government’s extra £200 million in funding for new cancer screening equipment over the next two years.

The cash injection will go towards replacing, refurbishing and upgrading CT and MRI scanners, bringing in alternatives with lower radiation levels, and paying for breast screening imaging and assessment equipment.

A GWH spokeswoman said: “We are very pleased to be one of the trusts that will benefit from government funding over the next two years to upgrade cancer screening equipment.

“The new, state-of-the-art machines will improve screening and early diagnosis of cancer, which is vital to saving more lives.

“We will continue to work closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement in our bid for new scanners and breast screening equipment.

“We hope that this will be the start of more investment into modern and more efficient technology to help us meet future demand.”

Robert Buckland, who was MP for South Swindon until the general election campaigns began this week, welcomed the cash injection after pushing for the hospital in his constituency to receive some of the funding.

He said: “It is fantastic news that the Great Western Hospital will benefit from funding for new cancer testing and detection technology.

“I lobbied health secretary Matt Hancock hard for this money. It builds upon the additional £30 million the GWH is set to receive to deliver a reconfigured and enlarged emergency department and transitional care facility.”

Replacing and upgrading cancer screening machines is intended to improve hospital efficiency by making them easier for medical staff to use.

And they will be faster at scanning and constructing images, which will reduce the need to re-scan.

The new equipment brings new capabilities, with many machines enabled for artificial intelligence.

Each NHS trust has been allocated funding for the new equipment based on an assessment of local infrastructure and local population need.

They are all expected to contribute to the NHS Long Term Plan’s goal of catching three-quarters of all cancers earlier, when they are easier to treat.