Icon Group is to reopen three former Rutherford Health cancer centres in Bedlington, Newport and Reading as part of a multi-million-pound investment in its UK oncology network.
The purpose-built facilities will provide radiotherapy, systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT), imaging and consulting services for NHS and private patients.
Combined, the three centres will have capacity to treat more than 1,500 patients a year.
The centres were previously operated by Rutherford Health, which entered liquidation in June 2022 after financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The three facilities subsequently remained unused.
The sites will operate as Icon Cancer Centre North East in Bedlington, Icon Cancer Centre South Wales in Newport and Icon Cancer Centre Thames Valley in Reading.
“The number of people being diagnosed with cancer continues to rise, and there is a clear need to deliver the best cancer care possible, closer to home,” said Mark Middleton, Group Chief Executive of Icon Group.
Icon said the centres would support NHS systems while reducing travel requirements for private patients.
The three former Rutherford facilities were originally designed by JDDK Architects, which was responsible for the design and delivery of the centres in Northumberland, Reading and Newport.
The Newport facility, located at Celtic Springs in Coedkernew, will serve a population of around 1.4 million people across South Wales and will have capacity to treat more than 500 patients a year.
The centres will also use advanced technology and AI-enabled workflows to support treatment planning and delivery, including faster treatment planning, improved accuracy and more precise radiotherapy.
Where clinically appropriate, the technology could support treatment delivered over fewer sessions.
Dr Penny Kechagioglou, chief medical officer at Icon UK, said the reopening of the facilities would increase access to radiotherapy.
“Radiotherapy is a vital part of cancer treatment but underutilised in the UK,” she said.
Bringing these assets back online creates more access for cancer patients needing life-saving therapy.
Expanding UK cancer network
The reopening of the three facilities builds on Icon Group's acquisition of Cancer Centre London, which now operates as Icon Cancer Centre London.
Icon is also progressing plans for further centres in Brighton, Derbyshire and Warwickshire, alongside a proposed facility in Leeds as part of a wider health initiative at AMT Headingley Stadium.
The Newport centre is being brought back into operation as cancer incidence in Wales continues to rise.
The latest official cancer incidence data recorded 21,006 new cancer cases in Wales in 2022, compared with a pre-pandemic annual average of 20,472.
The three Rutherford facilities are expected to expand Icon's UK oncology capacity while bringing previously unused cancer treatment infrastructure back into operation.
Other Cancer Centres in development
Separately, construction is under way on the new Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, which is scheduled to open in spring 2027 and will provide expanded specialist cancer treatment and diagnostic facilities for patients across South Wales.
Kier has been appointed to provide facilities management services for the new centre following completion of the project.
