A £750,000 funding boost is helping The James Cook University Hospital expand its radiotherapy , with at least 10 new radiographer posts planned in Middlesbrough.
The extra funding from NHS Specialised is intended to help the hospital make fuller use of its radiotherapy capacity and reduce waiting times as demand continues to rise.
James Cook says radiotherapy referrals have increased by 15.8% since 2022. Its team provides around 40,000 each year to patients from Teesside and beyond.
From July, the department has been operating six linear accelerator machines and two CT scanners. Three of the LINAC machines have recently been upgraded, allowing more precise targeted , but the hospital says additional staff are needed to use the equipment at maximum capacity.
Therapeutic radiographers play a central role in matching treatment plans to individual patients, targeting tumours while limiting exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. They also support patients with the side effects of treatment.
The recruitment drive therefore does two jobs at once: adding specialist NHS roles in Teesside and increasing the capacity available to people receiving cancer treatment.
More information is available from University Hospitals Tees.