Councillor Hoskin to move:

This Council notes:

·       NHS England has announced it is privatising Positron Emission Tomography - Computed Tomography (PET-CT) cancer scanning services for the Thames Valley area which includes Reading. This will hand the contract over to InHealth, a private company and take it away from the internationally respected NHS Churchill Hospital in Oxford.

·       That PET-CT scanning provides 3D scans of inside the body that are an essential specialist resource in helping doctors spot tumours, plan the best treatment and monitor whether that treatment is working.

·       That specialist cancer doctors at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust have declared they have “concerns about the potential impact on the safety and quality of patient care at the loss of the current PET-CT service”.

·       That Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs in the Thames Valley have raised objections to this privatisation and concerns about potential impact of patient care.

·       The lack of public consultation on these proposals.

This Council believes:

·       That, as asserted in its carried motion of 27 March 2018 “NHS services should remain in public ownership and that elements of the system that have been privatised ought to be brought back into public ownership”.

·       That privatisation of trusted and respected NHS services can potentially harm patient care and obstruct the collaborative and integrated health and care services that would best serve the people of Reading and the wider area.

This Council resolves:

·       To formally object to the privatisation of the Thames Valley’s specialist PET-CT scanning services.

·       That the Chief Executive writes on behalf of the Council to the Chief Executive of NHS England and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to call for a halt to this procurement exercise, particularly highlighting the lack of consultation with the public, councils or MPs, and the lack of a transparent assessment of the potential risks to clinical care and patient safety.

·       To send a copy of this letter to councils and MPs in the Thames Valley area covered by these services and encourage them to raise any concerns they may have with NHS England.

·       Explore the possibility of a joint health scrutiny of this privatisation with other concerned councils.

Pursuant to Notice, the following motion was moved by Councillor Hoskin and seconded by Councillor David Absolom and CARRIED:

Resolved –

This Council notes:

·                NHS England has announced it is privatising Positron Emission Tomography - Computed Tomography (PET-CT) cancer scanning services for the Thames Valley area which includes Reading. This will hand the contract over to InHealth, a private company and take it away from the internationally respected NHS Churchill Hospital in Oxford.

·                That PET-CT scanning provides 3D scans of inside the body that are an essential specialist resource in helping doctors spot tumours, plan the best treatment and monitor whether that treatment is working.

·                That specialist cancer doctors at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust have declared they have “concerns about the potential impact on the safety and quality of patient care at the loss of the current PET-CT service”.

·                That Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs in the Thames Valley have raised objections to this privatisation and concerns about potential impact of patient care.

·                The lack of public consultation on these proposals.

This Council believes:

·                That, as asserted in its carried motion of 27 March 2018 “NHS services should remain in public ownership and that elements of the system that have been privatised ought to be brought back into public ownership”.

·                That privatisation of trusted and respected NHS services can potentially harm patient care and obstruct the collaborative and integrated health and care services that would best serve the people of Reading and the wider area.

This Council resolves:

·                To formally object to the privatisation of the Thames Valley’s specialist PET-CT scanning services.

·                That the Chief Executive writes on behalf of the Council to the Chief Executive of NHS England and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to call for a halt to this procurement exercise, particularly highlighting the lack of consultation with the public, councils or MPs, and the lack of a transparent assessment of the potential risks to clinical care and patient safety.

·                To send a copy of this letter to councils and MPs in the Thames Valley area covered by these services and encourage them to raise any concerns they may have with NHS England.

·                To explore the possibility of a joint health scrutiny of this privatisation with other concerned councils.