NHS using 'out of date' equipment

Half the equipment in a quarter of operating theatres 'is past its best'

Out of date and "patched up" NHS equipment is putting patients' lives at risk, according to research.

The backlog of repairs has reached £3.4bn, with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases delayed as a result, the Best Before study claims.

Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow, who put together the dossier, warned: "Equipment that is past its 'best before' date undermines quality care."

A government spokeswoman said it was "reversing years of under funding".

Replacement age

According to the study, radiotherapy is the worst hit area, with almost two in five linear accelerator machines, which are used in the treatment of cancer, out of date.

A third of MRI scanners, used to diagnose cancer, are also out of date, as are one in 10 CT scanners, used for brain, organ and bone injuries.

A huge programme of upgrading equipment for diagnosing and treating cancer is well under way Melanie Johnson

And almost half the kit at one in four hospital theatres has passed its "generally agreed replacement age", the research suggests.

More than £500m is needed just to reach minimum standards, with 10% of patient areas currently unsafe, it added.

Mr Burstow said: "Years of under funding by Conservative and Labour governments have left a legacy of out-of-date equipment, broken down scanners and crumbling hospitals."

He added: "A failure to invest in new equipment and basic maintenance is letting down patients and leaving NHS staff to patch and make do."

'Huge programme'

Mr Burstow's claims were rejected by Health Minister Melanie Johnson, who said hospital buildings and the equipment they contained were being updated.

She said: "A huge programme of upgrading equipment for diagnosing and treating cancer is well under way and in a relatively short amount of time vast improvements have already been made."

Hospitals had received more than 1,000 pieces of new kit since 2000, Ms Johnson said.

She added: "We have committed funding to replace all CT and MRI scanners more than 10 years old and linear accelerators more than 11 years old by December 2006 and we are well on the way to meeting this target."