First NHS proton beam machine arrives at Christie hospital

First NHS proton beam machine arrives at Christie hospital The machine that will enable the NHS's first proton beam therapy (PBT) unit to treat cancer patients will arrive later.

Manchester's Christie hospital will be the first NHS unit to provide the treatment, meaning patients needing PBT will no longer have to go abroad.

Up to 750 patients will use the new unit due to open in August 2018.

University College London Hospital (UCLH) is due to open its own PBT centre in 2020.

The government has invested £250m into building the two new NHS centres. Currently, only low-energy treatment is available in the UK for rare eye cancers.

Last year, the NHS sent 210 patients abroad for PBT - mostly to the US and Switzerland - at a cost of about £114,000 each. BBC News