7 new community diagnostic centres (CDCs) will open to help improve the Covid backlogs, diagnose patients more quickly and meet future demands on the NHS, the Health and Social Care Secretary has confirmed this week.

The new CDCs will be rolled out in Willesden and Wembley in north west London, Leigh in Greater Manchester, St Albans, Lancashire, and Eltham in south east London.

So far, 92 have already opened in a variety of settings from football stadiums to shopping centres – carrying out over 1.7 million tests. CDCs utilise a wide-range of diagnostic equipment both IVD and non-IVD based to produce lifesaving diagnoses for patients.

An example of this is Finchley Memorial Hospital CDC, which opened in north London in August 2021 and now offers patients two MRI scanners along with two obstetric ultrasound machines. Staff carry out a range of scans, blood tests, and other cardiology and respiratory services – with more than 50,000 tests so far delivered.

The Government has already committed to establishing 160 community diagnostic centres across the country by 2025 to deliver nine million tests, checks and scans a year, with the programme backed by £2.3 billion of diagnostics investment.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said, “Community diagnostic centres are a vital part of our plan to transform the way we deliver tests, scans and x-rays and ultimately reduce waiting times for patients. Along with speeding up diagnosis times, they will also help tackle health disparities”.