North Cornwall’s MP, Scott Mann, has welcomed the news that the government has delivered an extra 4 million tests, checks and scans to bust elective backlogs.
Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) including the one at Bodmin which opened last year, 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.
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 the 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.
Scott Mann MP said:
“The government is showing progress on its promise to open 160 of the facilities by March 2025, with a further eight due to open before the end of the year, the Health and Social Care Secretary has today confirmed. These will provide capacity for more than 742,000 extra tests a year once fully operational, bolstering access to care.
“When we opened the Bodmin unit last November one of the key elements was the ability to help clear the local backlog. We have never had CT, MRI and Ultrasound in North Cornwall before, so I am very pleased with how things are working out.”
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.”
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."
