North Macedonia PET/CT scanner failure sparks healthcare criticism

The political party Levica has criticized the Ministry of Health for the prolonged malfunction of the state's only PET/CT scanner, a critical tool for assessing cancer progression and treatment efficacy. Patients report being forced to seek private diagnostics or travel abroad at a cost of approximately 1,300 euros because the state service is unavailable.

Reports indicate that the failure was preventable. A State Audit Office report from May 2025 highlighted the risks of relying on a single PET/CT scanner and cyclotron, valued at 5.8 million euros, and noted weaknesses in equipment maintenance. Furthermore, the Institute admitted that preventive maintenance protocols for the diffusion pump, such as oil changes every five years, were not followed in previous years.

Levica criticized Sasho Klevkovski, noting that while he had previously promised to secure a second scanner to increase annual capacity to 5,500–6,000 scans, the first machine remains non-functional. The party is calling for an urgent technical and institutional audit to determine responsibility for the maintenance failures.