A breast cancer patient, clinicians and trainees have all contributed to a new film to support the £3.2m fundraising appeal to build a national training academy for breast cancer professionals and help to save lives.
Launched by Manchester Foundation Trust Charity and Prevent Breast Cancer, the ‘Build To Beat Breast Cancer’ appeal aims to fund a new National Breast Imaging Academy (NBIA) training facility in south Manchester.
This new facility will help to tackle staff shortages across the national breast imaging workforce, by providing access to specialist training programmes for the additional mammographers, radiographers and breast clinicians needed to deliver sustainable breast screening and care services across the country.
Dr Mary Wilson is a consultant breast radiologist with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, a trustee of Prevent Breast Cancer, and the programme lead for the NBIA. She said: “We hope this film will help us to raise awareness of the vital need for this new training academy. If we are to tackle backlogs and meet the ever-growing demand for breast screening services, we must train more doctors, radiographers and mammography apprentices – and ultimately prevent more lives being lost to this disease.”
The new building, which will be an extension of the Nightingale Centre and Prevent Breast Cancer Research Unit at Wythenshawe Hospital, which is part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, will bring a number of important benefits.
Alongside providing excellent workforce training facilities, it will enable an extra 13,000 patients be seen each year and offer additional capacity for research into breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. It will also help to level up health inequalities and create much-needed job opportunities for the local community.
Find out more about the Appeal and watch the film here