UCLH provides a comprehensive breast care service, looking after patients with breast cancer and benign breast conditions. 

In 2025, the breast care service is due to relocate to Bedford Passage, bringing breast care services together in a purpose-built facility.  

A new Injector, to enable Contrast-Enhanced Spectral Mammography (CESM) offers a ground- breaking step in breast imaging by offering earlier detection, clearer imaging for patients with dense breast tissue and an alternative for patients who cannot undergo MRI scanning due to allergies, pacemakers, or claustrophobia.  Funding for this machine was not available.   

We are delighted that our long-time partners Derwent London have very generously donated £30,000 to UCLH Charity, which has enabled the purchase of one of these injectors so that CESM can be offered to UCLH patients.  

Radiographer Craig Harris-Scully explains how the CESM will improve the overall service offered at UCLH, “This specialised kit will help the breast team to provide a more streamlined service for patients, detect and therefore treat breast cancer more rapidly and also free up valuable MRI space so more patients can be treated”.

Having been ‘switched on’ the equipment is making a difference in its first few days of operation, as Craig added, “Having completed the training of some of our mammographers, we completed several cases successfully in the breast one stop clinic. One patient showed more disease than initially expected, so has already had their second look ultrasound and can proceed straight to further biopsies, shortening the length of the current diagnostic pathway.” 

Stuart Lavery, divisional clinical director for women’s health at UCLH said, “We would like to thank Derwent London for their generous donation which will help us to continue to offer the latest available treatment to the thousands of patients who come to the UCLH breast care service each year. Awaiting diagnosis can be a very stressful, difficult time so anything that can make this quicker and more efficient, will improve our patients’ experience of care at UCLH.”