OXFORDSHIRE MPs have called for Health Secretary Matt Hancock to 'urgently' rethink his decision not to review plans to privatise cancer scans in the county before it is too late.

A letter, jointly signed by East Oxford MP Anneliese Dodds, Oxford West and Abingdon representative Layla Moran and Banbury MP Victoria Prentis, said they'd had evidence company InHealth's mobile scanner proposal went 'directly against' previous NHS policy and expressed concern this would impact patients.

It added: "The need for action is urgent as it is possible that NHS England may succeed in forcing Oxford University NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) to conclude a partnership with InHealth in the near future, despite the fact this will go directly against the Oxfordshire's Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) recommendations."

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In June the Department of Health said it was not responding to the referral delivered to the Government by JHOSC about the ongoing process to give the contract for the county's PET-CT scanner to InHealth, a private contractor.

It is currently held by the OUH and operates from the Churchill Hospital.

Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery, Chair of OUH, at the time said the trust was 'naturally surprised and disappointed' by the decision and would 'await further developments'.