What discussions is the Cabinet Minister having with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board about ensuring they have access to appropriate surgical machinery to prevent patients having to travel to London or Cardiff?
The Welsh Government’s role is to set the strategic direction for the NHS in Wales and to hold it to account for delivery. It is not the role of Welsh Ministers to require a health board to procure a specific company’s robotic equipment. Health boards must undertake the relevant procurement processes.
I expect the health board to deliver care in line with recommended clinical practice, as described by organisations such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. NICE has provided the following guidance for NHS services:
Overview | Prostate cancer: diagnosis and management | Guidance | NICE
This guidance recommends radical prostatectomy as a treatment option for localised and locally advanced prostate cancer. It goes onto recommend NHS services consider the provision of robotic-assisted surgery in centres that perform more than 150 robotic-assisted procedures a year.
The Welsh Government does not routinely collect data on the number of PET-CT scans or prostatectomies provided or commissioned by the health board. The health board indicates it has referred around 45 patients over the past two years for a PET-CT scan in south Wales and undertakes around 15-20 prostatectomies per year.
The health board has arrangements with providers in England to secure additional surgical capacity, including access to robotic-assisted surgery when required. However, not every patient is suitable for robotic-assisted surgery and decisions about treatment remain a matter of clinical judgement based on an individual's circumstances.
We are also supporting health boards and the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee to ensure equitable access to PET imaging across Wales. A new digital PET scanner entered clinical operation in north Wales in August 2026, improving image quality and increasing patient throughput. Subject to approval of a full business case, a new fixed PET-CT and nuclear medicine centre is proposed at Glan Clwyd Hospital.
In line with its escalation status, the health board is receiving intensive support from NHS Wales Performance and Improvement as it works to stabilise and improve its services, including urology. Its longer-term ambitions include increasing access to robotic-assisted surgery, establishing a nuclear medicine centre of excellence, and repatriating prostate cancer robotic surgery to more local providers.
Looking ahead, this Government has committed to developing a 10-year National Cancer Strategy for Wales to improve cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, address inequities in access to services, and help the NHS prepare for future innovations in care, including evidence-based technologies such as robotic-assisted surgery.