New cancer treatment at hospital

Work has started on the first bunker at Raigmore

New cancer treatment is to be provided at Inverness's Raigmore Hospital at a total cost of £8m.

Two bunkers are to be built for linear accelerators - equipment designed to give pinpoint radiotherapy treatment on tumours.

Work has started on the first bunker, while the second is expected to be completed by 2010.

Raigmore's existing linear accelerator will eventually be replaced leaving the hospital with two new machines.

NHS Highland said the new machine has the ability to produce high quality images of tumours, target tumours precisely and a new verification system that checks the treatment has been set up correctly and records the dose.

Increased workload

The project also includes a CT simulator that will be used for the planning of treatments.

Nichola Summers, cancer services manager, said there was increasing demand for radiotherapy.

She said: "We know that approximately half of all new cancer patients are likely to require radiotherapy as part of their initial disease management, and the numbers of patients diagnosed with cancer are also rising.

"These new linear accelerators are part of a package of measures to help us deal with this increase in workload, and are very welcome."