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£3.9M “Build To Beat Breast Cancer” Appeal
Manchester Foundation Trust Charity and Prevent Breast Cancer have teamed up to build a national training academy for breast cancer professionals and to help save lives.
The ‘Build To Beat Breast Cancer’ appeal will raise £3.9m for a new National Breast Imaging Academy training facility, to tackle the challenges currently facing the breast screening workforce. By joining forces, the two charities are hoping to raise the money more quickly.
The new building will play a key role in tackling staff shortages across the national breast imaging workforce, 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.
Over the years, demand for breast imaging has increased at a much faster rate than staffing numbers, placing very significant pressures on the workforce. The situation has been made worse by the pandemic and the fact that 40% of the doctors are due to retire by 2025.
Since the start of the pandemic, research has shown that 1.5 million fewer breast screening appointments have been carried out, and it is estimated that 12,000 people could be living with undiagnosed breast cancer.
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 (MFT), 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.
The two charities have 18 months to raise the funds, combining their expertise to tackle the nationwide challenges breast imaging is facing.
To make a donation, register your interest to get involved in the Appeal, or find out more about the appeal, please visit the Prevent Breast Cancer website.
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