PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Community Diagnostic Centres (13 December 2022)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has been made of the potential effectiveness of the 91 community diagnostic centres on improving (a) capacity in the diagnostic service and (b) patient outcomes.

Asked by:
Karin Smyth (Labour)

The Department and NHS England aim to increase diagnostic activity to 120% of pre-pandemic levels by March 2025. The 2021 Spending Review provided £2.3 billion to transform diagnostic services, with the majority of this funding being used to increase the number of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to 160 by March 2025.

The Department supports NHS England to monitor CDCs’ delivery against planned activity on a weekly basis. As of November 2022, 91 CDCs have delivered more than 2.5 million additional diagnostic tests. The planned expansion of up to 160 CDCs will deliver approximately 17 million tests by March 2025 and increase capacity for a further nine million.  Increased capacity for diagnostic tests at CDCs will enable earlier treatment for patients and improve outcomes. The model of care delivered by CDCs also promotes convenience for patients by co-ordinating all necessary diagnostic tests and wherever possible, delivering these procedures in a single visit.

Answered by:
Will Quince (Conservative)
20 December 2022