Leader of the Welsh Conservatives and Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has condemned Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board for failing to properly plan the transition between mobile and permanent PET/CT scanning services, which has resulted in cancer patients facing serious delays for life-saving treatment.
The contract for the mobile PET/CT scanner service at Wrexham (for NHS patients), provided by the private healthcare company InHealth as part of a service commissioned by the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee (NWJCC), came to an end on January 1st 2026.
A transition from mobile units to permanent, static digital scanners as part of a Welsh Government investment program is planned, but no contingency plan has been put in place for the delay between the contract ending and the permanent scanner being installed.
This has resulted in lengthy waits for treatment and long round trips for patients, with some from North Wales being offered appointments in Cardiff.
Darren wrote to the health board about the delays after being contacted by a constituent whose husband’s vital Hormone Therapy Treatment, to prevent further disease progression, can not be carried out until a PET scan is completed.
After receiving a response stating that “the Health Board’s Complaints Team is investigating the complaint”, Darren has sent a further email to BCUHB’s Chief Executive, Carol Shillabeer, this week in which he described the situation as “totally unacceptable” and warns that it is “putting patients at risk of harm”.
He further states: “The Health Board must have been aware that this contract was coming to an end yet it does not appear to have planned ahead”, and asks “why there was no retendering exercise in sufficient time to ensure a smooth transition to new arrangements”.
Commenting on the situation, Darren said:
“It is deeply concerning that the end of a scanning contract appears not to have been matched with robust contingency planning.
“The health board knew this contract was ending, yet allowed a gap in service that leaves patients with aggressive and complex cancers waiting while their disease progresses.
“Dealing with a cancer diagnosis and treatment is a worrying time for patients and their families, they do not need this additional angst.
“I eagerly await the Chief Executive’s response to my series of questions regarding this failure and will be raising the matter with Welsh Government Ministers.
“Cancer patients should not be paying the price for poor planning.”
ENDS
Watch Darren’s contribution in the Welsh Parliament below: