The UK Labour Party has published its 2024 election manifesto which calls for the wider implementation of medical technology such as AI systems, diagnostic scanners, and a clearer plan for procurement to equip the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
The manifesto comes ahead of the UK's impending 2024 general election in which the Labour Party is predicted to form a majority on the 4 July election date. The NHS has taken centre stage in the election as the UK faces multiple crises across its healthcare systems.
Within the manifesto, among initiatives to expand the NHS workforce and further spin out trusts and services to bring medical services closer to patient communities rather than centralised within hospitals, is a call to ensure that NHS clinics and hospitals are better equipped with more diagnostic imaging and testing devices able to detect conditions such as cancer more frequently.
The manifesto reads: “A system reliant on pagers and fax machines is not fit for this decade let alone the next. Too many cancer deaths could have been prevented with earlier diagnosis. The NHS has fewer diagnostic scanners per person than other countries, with many ageing machines operating for long after they should.
“State-of-the-art scanners with embedded AI are faster and more effective at finding smaller tumours, saving lives. Therefore, Labour will introduce a new ‘Fit For the Future’ fund to double the number of CT and MRI scanners, allowing the NHS to catch cancer and other conditions earlier, saving lives.”
The announcement is likely good news for the general diagnostic imaging market, which saw stable growth worldwide following the Covid-19 pandemic. According to research by GlobalData, the global diagnostic imaging market saw sales of $31.9bn in 2023, with steady growth to sales of $45.8bn in 2030. Much of this is driven by the emergence of AI within diagnostic tools cutting down on processing time, as well as the emergence of more handheld diagnostic tools that simplify patient scanning.
The Labour manifesto also claims that once in power the party will seek to drive the UK’s clinical trials scene by encouraging participation through the longstanding NHS patient app.
The manifesto reads: “Drawing on the strength of our National Health Service, Labour will also maximise our potential to lead the world in clinical trials.
“This means making the process more efficient and accessible, by speeding up recruitment and giving more people a chance to participate through the NHS app. This will mean putting Britain at the forefront of transforming treatment for dementia.”
Meanwhile, as the election rolls on, the NHS Confederation Expo 2024 in Manchester concludes two days of intense discussions on the future of the health service.
