COMMUNITY DIAGNOSTIC CENTRES
Past projects informing the future of CDCs
Over the past two years, Morgan Sindall Construction has delivered seven Community Diagnostic Centres across the UK. Here, healthcare framework director Jonathan Stead discusses the technical, operational, and strategic lessons that that the company has learned when it comes to managing risk, the order and timings of construction, and stakeholder engagement, and how this is shaping Morgan Sindall Construction’s approach to a new generation of CDCs.
Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) were rolled out as an urgent response to a completely unforeseen challenge. In the wake of the pandemic, diagnostic backlogs were growing, hospital estates were under pressure, and the NHS required rapid, decentralised capacity to restore services and improve early detection rates. Several years on now, and with 14.7 million diagnostic tests delivered nationally through CDCs, the conversation is still evolving. The priority question is no longer how quickly diagnostic infrastructure can be delivered, but how intelligently can it be done and what wider benefits can this work provide. At Morgan Sindall Construction, we have delivered
seven CDCs in the past two years, working alongside trusts including Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, Mid and South Essex Hospitals NHS Trust, and Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust. During this time, we have seen the full spectrum
across the business, from hybrid-constructed new builds at Newmarket Community Hospital, to complex refurbishments within live hospital environments such as Thurrock CDC, and town-centre retail conversions at the heart of Grimsby’s shopping centre, each has shaped how we now approach risk, the planned order and timings of construction, and stakeholder engagement. While every single scheme has been different, clear
patterns have emerged. Those lessons, whether technical, operational, or strategic, are shaping how we approach the next generation of CDCs.
From speed to strategy The first wave of CDC delivery was undertaken at pace, which is no surprise given that funding deadlines were tight and, in the post-pandemic fallout, Trusts were under the weight of operational pressure. The importance of increasing the nation’s diagnostic capacity is underlined by the fact that over 85 per cent of NHS patients require some form of diagnostic test as part of their care pathway, and without timely imaging and testing, planned treatment and procedures get stalled, cancer targets slip, and clinical risk escalates. The rapid delivery of healthcare environments shines a spotlight on the need for all the teams involved in the project to take extra care that any potential friction in the process has been identified and straightened out. This means putting each stage of the project under the microscope, such as ensuring that design interfaces are
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clear, stakeholder engagement is robustly planned, and that assumptions about existing property are accurate. At Northgate CDC, for example, early assumptions
around the existing structure would have led to significant rework later in the programme. By interrogating the building early, we identified the need for a new slab and resin floor to meet CT scanner tolerances, avoiding disruption during installation. This kind of early examination of CDC projects has proven essential. Now that we have real-world operational data, estates teams and delivery partners have the opportunity to refine the model. This will empower future CDCs to deliver multiple benefits to the Trust, clinicians, patients, and wider communities by going beyond meeting a high standard for healthcare provision, to actively optimising patient flow, enhancing resilience, supporting digital integration, and meaningfully contributing to Net Zero ambitions.
Northgate CDC exterior (below), and the CT scanner at the CDC (left).
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