THE Welsh NHS is “considering its options” to make use of the Rutherford Cancer Centre in Newport after the centre’s owners announced they are going into liquidation.

On Monday, the Rutherford Health Group – which owns the centre in Newport’s Celtic Springs Business Park – announced it had made an application to be placed into liquidation.

Following the news, Newport West’s Member of the Senedd Jayne Bryant and Member of Parliament Ruth Jones have called on the Welsh Government to ensure that no patients will have their treatments affected by this decision, and called for action to be taken to safeguard jobs.

In reply, health minister Eluned Morgan said the Welsh NHS was “considering options to make use of the facility” to help tackle the cancer treatment backlog in Wales.

“It will be an enormous shame to lose this facility here in Wales,” Ms Bryant said when asking a question to Ms Morgan in the Senedd on Wednesday.

“The facility provides cancer diagnostic and cancer treatment services at a moment in time when we need the staff and equipment to clear the cancer backlog as quickly as possible.

“Can the minister assure me that none of the locally commissioned NHS patients will be compromised by the company's decision to appoint the liquidator?

“And while I realise there will be a process involved in finding a new buyer, will the Welsh Government leave no stone unturned in looking at the business case for using this centre for tackling the cancer backlog, in the first instance as a diagnostic centre, but possibly in terms of cancer treatment too?”

“Obviously, this news is desperately sad for the staff at Newport and the patients who are undergoing treatment there and, of course, for the local economy,” said Ms Morgan.

“Now, our priority, first and foremost, has been to ensure that people who are midway through their treatment can continue their therapy, whether they're NHS or whether they're private, as, obviously, patient safety is our primary concern.

“Thankfully, the number of patients who will not have finished their treatment by the time the centre closes is very, very small.

“But, the important point is that the NHS is repatriating any patients if they've been referred there, and we are also looking after private patients that have started radiotherapy but haven't completed it.

“And just in terms of the future of the centre in Newport, the NHS in Wales is considering options to make use of the facility, but I'm afraid I can't comment any further at this time.”

Following these comments, Ms Jones said: “It’s been distressing to see the Rutherford Cancer Centre close its doors so quickly, by most accounts it was delivering excellent state-of-the-art cancer care for patients right across south Wales. 

“I’m sure it was hugely reassuring for current patients to hear on Wednesday that the Welsh Government is working to ensure continuity of care for those currently undergoing treatment.

“We now need to do all we can to help safeguard the jobs of the brilliant staff who run the centre and maintain the use of this vital resource here in our city.”