Jo Churchill MP has welcomed the news that the government has delivered an extra 4 million tests, checks and scans to bust elective backlogs – and that eight new Community Diagnostic Centres (CDC) will open this year.
Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) have delivered over four million checks, tests and scans for patients across the country since July 2021, cutting waiting lists and giving patients quicker access to care.
Commenting, Jo Churchill MP said:
Last winter, we received the exciting news that funding had been approved for our new community diagnostic centre in Newmarket, a significant milestone in our mission to provide more healthcare services within our local community.
So, it is wonderful to see that services will now extend even further, as some of my constituents will also benefit from the new site in Ipswich. This expansion, in addition to our new state of the art hospital in Bury St Edmunds, is a testament to our shared vision of prioritising accessible and patient-centred care. It signifies a tremendous leap forward in our commitment to improving healthcare outcomes for all. I am really proud of the progress we have made and the positive impact it will have on our community. It is fantastic news for my constituents and our hardworking medical staff who work across the sites.
Delivering care locally particularly with access to vital tests and diagnostics closer to their homes, helps people reduce the strain on our healthcare resources. The establishment of these new diagnostic centres, along with the expansion of our services, introduces more convenient options for patients, ultimately improving their overall healthcare experience and helping to drive down waiting lists.
Commenting, Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:
These new centres will benefit tens of thousands of patients, cutting out unnecessary hospital visits and delivering closer, more convenient care.
Patients will be able to access a range of life-saving tests, including MRI scans, X-rays, and respiratory checks – speeding up the diagnosis of illnesses like cancer and heart disease.
We have already made significant progress in bringing down waiting lists – one of the government’s top five priorities - and community diagnostic centres are a key part of this, with over four million vital checks delivered so far.
GPs can refer patients to a centre so they can access life-saving checks closer to home and be diagnosed for a range of conditions, rather than travelling to hospital. The centres are not only more convenient for patients but are also more efficient for staff and free up clinicians’ time to help further cut the waiting lists.
NHS national director of elective recovery, Sir James Mackey, said:
These ‘one-stop-shops’ play a key role the NHS’s elective recovery plan, and the new CDCs are a welcome addition to more than 100 existing community diagnostic centres, which have already delivered more than four million tests and checks.
Our elective recovery plan set out how the NHS will deliver nine million more tests and checks per year by 2025, and the work of these diagnostic centres – some in convenient spots including shopping centres – are excellent examples of the innovative work being done across the health service to ensure patients get the tests and checks they need as quickly as possible.
