Forty new diagnostic centres in stadiums and shoppings centres to tackle huge NHS backlog

Government hopes facilities will drive down waiting times

A total of 40 new diagnostic centres will open in England to lessen the strain on the NHS, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said

The venues, which will be housed in places such as shopping centres and football stadiums, will allow thousands of patients to go for scans and tests without the need to go to hospital.

It is hoped that the sites will help drive down NHS waiting lists, which stood at 5.6 million people at the end of July, the highest figure since records began in August 2007.

The centres will receive £350 million in government funding to enable them to give 2.8 million scans over the first year.

One community diagnostic centre will open at the Glass Works in Barnsley, while another will be located at Brighton’s Falmer Community Stadium.

Services provided by the 40 facilities will include MRI, X-ray, CT and Ultrasound scans.

Announcing the decision, health secretary Sajid Javid said: “Tackling waiting lists will require new and more innovative ways of delivering the services people need. That is why we’re making it easier and more convenient to get checked.

“Our new Community Diagnostic Centres will bring those crucial tests closer to home including in the communities that need them most. They will help enable earlier diagnosis, allowing us to catch cancer and other issues as quickly as possible, and save more lives.”

Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, also welcomed the move, saying the sites would play an important role in “ultimately sparing more patients and families the pain and trauma of disease”.

Professor Sir Mike Richards, who recommended the new diagnostics model in a government report last year, said he was “absolutely delighted” that his advice was becoming a reality “so quickly”.

“I have no doubt that many people will benefit from these new NHS Community Diagnostic Centres, bringing together many tests in one convenient place,” he said.

The facilities will open their doors over the next six months and will be fully operational by March.