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Link:

ucl.ac.uk/nuclear-medicine/" target="_self">°×С½ãÂÛ̳ Institute for Nuclear Medicine

Just hours before making his pre-budget report yesterday, Chancellor Alistair Darling accompanied Prime Minister Gordon Brown on a tour of University College Hospital. The pair met with senior physicians and researchers at the °×С½ãÂÛ̳ Institute for Nuclear Medicine to learn more about one of the UK's leading centres for biomedical research.

With the NHS remaining a firm priority in government spending plans, Professor Peter Ell, director of the °×С½ãÂÛ̳ Institute of Nuclear Medicine, showed the PM and Chancellor a £1.5 million PET CT scanner, which is currently used for cancer diagnosis and research into cardiac patients. The scanner is one of the first of its type, but it is hoped such equipment will become more widely available in the NHS as new investment is directed towards this area.

Professor Ell said: "The prime minister and chancellor were impressed by the environment, the advanced expertise and technology available at the unit. They engaged actively with staff and myself in order to try to identify the best way forward in this exciting field."

Robert Naylor, Chief Executive of the °×С½ãÂÛ̳ Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "The prime minister showed a very keen interest in the excellent facilities at UCH and our leading position in biomedical research. He was particularly impressed by the extent of collaborative research between the Trust and °×С½ãÂÛ̳ and our plans for the provision of healthcare over the coming years.

"I explained to the prime minister the importance of our designation as one of the five comprehensive biomedical research centres and our vision to develop this into a truly world-class academic health sciences centre with °×С½ãÂÛ̳. This would enable our patients to be the first to benefit from new medical discoveries."

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Image: Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling