On 1 September 2022 the Department of Health and Social Care (“DHSC”) announced that seven new Community Diagnostic Centres (“CDCs”) would be opening to help meet future demands on the NHS.
The Government aims to open 160 CDCs in total by 2025 to deliver 9 million tests. The programme has been backed by £2.3 billion in diagnostics investment.
These CDCs are one-stop-shops that offer a range of diagnostic checks, scans and tests locally to patients. To date, 92 CDCs have opened and carried out over 1.7 million tests. The idea is to reduce hospital visits and waiting times for those who need to receive urgent care. Patients referred to CDCs by their GPs will have the benefit of access to CT scanners, MRI scanners, and other new diagnostic equipment to diagnose them as quickly as possible.
The seven new CDCs will be opened in the following locations on the following dates:
- Eltham (Southeast London) – Spring 2023;
- Lancashire – Spring 2023;
- Leigh (Greater Manchester) – Winter 2023;
- St Albans – Winter 2023 to 2024; and
- Willesden and Wembley (Northwest London) – Winter 2022 to 2023
