CANCER treatment in Oxfordshire could be seriously downgraded if national NHS bosses award a new contract to a private firm.

Negotiations are currently ongoing which could see Oxford's largest NHS trust stripped of the contract to provide specialised cancer scans in the region.

However fears have been raised by doctors, elected officials, MPs and health campaigners who have argued that handing a deal for PET-CT scans to a 'lesser qualified' private provider could 'put patients at risk'.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) has provided the cancer diagnostic service from the Churchill Hospital since 2005 and is considered a world leader in the field.

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However concerns have also been raised as to the possible location of the scanning equipment which could be moved away from local NHS hospitals under a new contract.

A source close to the trust who did not wish to be named said elected Governors at OUH were strongly questioning the decision by health chiefs to allow cancer services at the Churchill Hospital to be taken over by a private company.

The source added: "This company has no known on-site facilities in the field of PET-CT scans, with a lower quality of appropriately qualified clinical staff, and with no research experience."

The state-of-the-art scans create a 3-D model of the patient's body, giving more accurate information about the cancer compared to other scans and are used to diagnose cancer, decide what on treatments and to see how well treatment is working.

Chair of the south east Oxfordshire Patient Participation Group, John Reid said: “I’m not convinced the private company will match the expertise that the Churchill has.

“Especially if the scanners are moved to another site - it’s going to be very bad for patients who will have to go by ambulance. It just doesn't make sense."

While last week East Oxford MP Anneliese Dodds called for a debate over the privatisation of the NHS after telling the House of Commons that the uncertainty around the PET-CT deal was causing a 'huge amount of local concern'.

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Recent figures show the trust, which leases the two PET Ct scanners at the Churchill, had failed to hit five of the eight cancer waiting-time targets.

NHS England is now in the second phase of a procurement process which will see PET-CT contracts across the country re-distributed.

Health chiefs say the new contracts will improve patient experience and provide value for money.

A spokesman said: "The procurement process is ongoing. OUH is one of the organisations we are working with."