NHS community diagnostic centres speeding up access to tests, survey finds

Patients are having important tests such as X-rays and scans more quickly thanks to the NHS’s rollout of a network of community diagnostic centres (CDCs), the health service’s patient champion has found.

The 160 CDCs now in operation across England have been opened over recent years to help patients get tested and diagnosed faster than by going to their GP or local hospital.

Louise Ansari, the chief executive of Healthwatch England, which surveyed patients’ experiences of using a CDC, said: “Our research shows that patients have had positive experiences of using community diagnostic centres, with timely, more personal and convenient care. Most of them received quicker tests and so had clarity on their diagnosis sooner.”

The survey found that most people appreciated the speed with which they were seen, the locations that are easy to reach and the service they received, and 87% said they had a positive experience.

CDCs are based in shopping centres, health centres and community hospitals rather than GP surgeries and acute hospitals, to make them more accessible.

NHS England created the CDCs to help tackle the increasingly long waits for tests such as CT and MRI scans and also non-obstetric ultrasound and echocardiograms, which soared after Covid.

The NHS constitution says patients should not have to wait more than six weeks for a diagnostic test, but the health service has not met that target for years. Currently 21% of patients have to wait longer than six weeks to be seen.

Dr Bernie Croal, the president of the Royal College of Pathologists, said CDCs could save lives. He said they brought “real benefits to patients with quicker, easier access through a one-stop shop, leading to earlier diagnoses, better outcomes and lives saved”.

Dr Layla McCay, the NHS Confederation’s director of policy, said: “Too many people are waiting too long for the tests, scans and treatment they need, often in pain or discomfort. So boosting diagnostics capacity, shortening waits and reducing travelling time by making them more convenient is essential to tackling care backlogs.”

CDCs are providing about 7m tests a year and are expected to increase that to 9m by next year, according to a Nuffield Trust analysis of their performance.

A CDC in the Mall shopping centre in Wood Green, north London, which opened in 2022, has helped the NHS’s North Central London integrated care board ensure that just 9% of its patients wait longer than six weeks – less than half the 21% national average.

Dr Jo Sauvage, the board’s chief medical officer, said the centre’s location in a busy shopping centre had helped improve access to healthcare for the poorest people locally, and that 77% of diagnostic tests done there had been performed on those from the most deprived groups.