NHS England has given approval for the creation of four new community-based NHS diagnostic testing facilities across West Yorkshire including Eccleshill in Bradford. The new one-stop-shops for checks, scans and tests will be backed by a £28 million investment.
The Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) will provide a large range of diagnostic tests, including imaging (such as x-ray, ultrasound, CT and MRI), pathology (such as phlebotomy) and physiological measurement tests (such as ECGs for heart conditions). Tests and checks carried out at these sites will help staff diagnose a range of conditions including cancer, heart and lung disease quicker to ensure patients get the care they need more quickly.
The locations for these centres have been decided based on where they are most needed to support existing NHS services. They will provide additional diagnostic capacity to support services already available in hospitals.
The four new centres will open in Eccleshill, Huddersfield, Seacroft and Wakefield. Plans are also being developed for further supporting centres in Armley, Beeston, Bradford, Castleford, Dewsbury, Halifax, Hemsworth, Keighley and Todmorden.
Diagnostic services will be delivered from these centres from 2023 onwards.
Sajid Azeb, Senior Responsible Officer for Access to Care for the Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership and Chief Operating Officer for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We welcome the additional investment which will support us in our aims to make services as accessible as possible for people across our communities. Our first centre will be based at Eccleshill however our future plans will see other options that further improves access to diagnostic sites. This is an important step as part of our wider efforts to tackle delays some people are experiencing accessing NHS services.”
Len Richards, Chief Executive of The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and Senior Responsible Officer for Diagnostics in West Yorkshire, said: “I’m delighted that the funding for these additional diagnostic services has been approved. The development of these centres will provide a more accessible and more equitable diagnostic service to the communities of West Yorkshire. As these centres will carry out routine diagnostics, which won’t be usurped by emergency and urgent diagnostics, it should ultimately help to reduce patient delays thereby resulting in an improved patient experience.”