Cancer patients face delays to access proton beam therapies

THE plan to bring pioneering proton beam cancer treatment to the UK has been affected by a major delay in installing one of two giant machines being bought by the NHS.

Proton beams can provide safer, more targeted and effective treatment than standard radiotherapy for certain types of cancer.

Installation of the machine at University College London Hospitals NHS Trust is two years behind schedule. It was due to open this year at the same time as the one at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, but will not now open for patients until at least 2020.

Proton beam treatment came to prominence three years ago with the case of Ashya King, 8, whose parents were jailed for abducting him from an NHS hospital to seek proton therapy abroad. He was recently declared clear of his brain cancer.

Some experts have described the £250million NHS machines – announced in 2008 – as being out of date before they are installed. A delay of one year at UCLH then became two as the project ran into problems building the machine in London.

Construction experts raised concerns over the “challenges” of building underground in the heart of the capital. The excavation is just 32ft from tube tunnels near Warren Street station.

A UCLH spokesman said: “We are confident that our centre’s construction and design will mean that we can deliver safe and effective PBT treatment to patients and we strongly dispute any claims to the contrary.”