Professor Gerry Hanna:

We now have the oldest radiotherapy fleet in Europe. That is a national disgrace. I know that is a strong word but it really is. It is very sad to say that. We do not accept this in other forms of medicine, such as drug therapy or diagnostics, but somehow we have let this slip in radiotherapy. We are being asked to work with the equivalent of Windows 95 rather than the most up-to-date equipment. We would not expect any of our colleagues to work with those software systems but that is what we are doing day in, day out. We are treating our most vulnerable patients, including children, in these older machines. It is a disgrace and it needs to be urgently addressed. We have a really easy solution. The money is already there. We have to pay it any way. It is about creating a programme that delivers on time. Also, beyond the rolling replacement we are asking for today, it is really about getting our St. Luke's replacement under way as soon as possible because we urgently need it.