Publish date: 14 February 2023
A new diagnostic hub is to be created in a Cheshire shopping centre.
The new facility will give thousands of people quicker access to checks and test, including for cancer.
The government announced new funding for 19 community diagnostic centres (CDC) across the country, including new ones in Halton and Liverpool.
The Halton CDC will be at Runcorn Shopping City as an extension to the one opened last year.
Given they are located in the heart of the community, people are able to access life-saving tests more quickly. The CDCs house equipment including MRI, CT, X-ray and ultrasound scanners which offer services including blood tests or heart rhythm and blood pressure monitoring.
The 19 approved new centres will be rolled out across the country, including Milton Keynes, Nottingham and Dorset. Once referred by a GP, pharmacist or hospital, patients can access CDCs in their local area to get any concerning symptoms checked out.
The NHS said: “Once fully operational, these new CDCs will plan to deliver over 1.1 million tests checks and scans a year. The facilities will take the total of approved CDCs to 143, over 80% of the government’s intention to open up to 160 CDCs to perform up to 9 million additional tests a year by 2025.
In November 2022 CDCs delivered c.5% of all diagnostic activity.
Dozens of new surgical spaces are also being created to bring down waiting times. An estimated 780,000 additional surgeries and outpatient appointments will be provided at 37 new surgical hubs, 10 expanded existing hubs and 81 new theatres.
Just over a year ago, the government and NHS set out the Elective Recovery Plan to recover NHS services and give patients greater control over their own health. Significant progress has since been made – with healthcare workers virtually eliminating the longest waits for treatment and cutting 18-month waits by more than 50%.
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre was one of the first Trusts in the country to launch a CDC – in a partnership with Wirral University Teaching Hospital – and Clatterbridge Diagnostics at Wirral has welcomed more than 10,000 patients since it opened in July 2021.
Read more about this in this news story: https://www.runcornandwidnesworld.co.uk/news/23324780.community-diagnostic-centre-opening-runcorn-shopping-city/