NEWS
Expansion of community diagnostic centres to help tackle the backlog,
Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) have delivered more than 2 million vital tests, checks and scans for patients, with a further 10 centres now approved, the Health and Social Care Secretary has announced. The centres are helping to tackle the COVID-19 backlogs by speeding up access to lifesaving tests. The one-stop shops, backed by £2.3 billion in funding, offer a range of services in the heart of communities, making tests more accessible for patients.
Based in community settings, such as shopping centres and football stadiums, the hubs house a range of cutting-edge equipment, including MRI, CT, X-ray and ultrasound scanners and offer services including blood tests or heart rhythm and blood pressure monitoring. They are designed to speed up diagnosis of conditions from cancer to heart or lung disease. As set out in Our plan for patients, published in September, the Government will prioritise rolling out up to 160 of these centres across England by 2025 to help reduce backlogs and enable the health service to deliver up to 9 million additional tests, checks and scans a year. Health and Social Care Secretary,
Thérèse Coffey also officially opened a new community diagnostic centre in a shopping centre in North London that will be open 7 days a week and deliver an additional 40,000 tests by spring 2023.
She commented: “My number one priority is delivering for patients and we’re getting on with the job of tackling the issues that affect people most – ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and dentists.
“I am also announcing the approval of 10 new community diagnostic centres which are helping to bust the COVID-19 backlogs by delivering vital tests, checks and scans in local areas. “They have delivered over 2 million checks over the past year, diagnosing conditions from cancer to lung disease – and we’re on track to open up to 160 centres across the country by 2025, delivering an additional 17 million checks.” NHS medical director for transformation, Vin Diwakar, said: “It is testament to the hard work of staff across the NHS that we have now delivered more than 2 million tests and checks at our one-stop shops, and latest figures show we have the lowest number of patients waiting for tests and checks since we published our elective recovery plan in February.
“We know that rapid diagnosis saves lives, and it is great news that more of these centres have been approved to provide checks and scans in the heart of local communities, making services more accessible and convenient while also helping to improve outcomes for patients with cancer and other serious conditions.” The 10 approved new centres will be rolled out across the country, including in the Isle of Wight, Burnley and Medway in Kent. Once referred by a GP, pharmacist or hospital, patients can access CDCs in their local area and get any concerning symptoms checked out.
£50m to tackle health inequalities through research
£50 million is to be invested in research to help tackle health inequalities in local areas and improve health outcomes across the country.
The significant investment, overseen by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), will enable 13 local authorities to set up pioneering Health Determinants Research Collaborations (HDRCs) between experts and academics to address knowledge gaps in local areas. This will enable new high-quality research into the local challenges affecting people’s health – such as facilitating research to better understand and introduce interventions to help with childhood obesity, COVID recovery, mental wellbeing and drug use. Local authorities up and down the UK are being awarded funding – from Plymouth and London to Newcastle and Aberdeen – to ensure health disparities are being addressed across the board. This forms a key part of the government’s Plan for Patients by supporting people to stay well and within the community, easing pressure on health and care services and enabling people to access the care they need, when they need it.
Minister of State for Health, Robert Jenrick, said: “The pandemic shone a light on the stark health inequalities that exist across the country – we are committed to levelling up the health of the nation. “This funding will drive progress to address health challenges locally, particularly in the places and communities most affected by ill health such as high levels of obesity, drug use and poor mental health. “Everyone should be able to live long, healthy lives regardless of their background
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and where they live, and this new research will help us deliver on our ambition.” Collaboration will be set up in partnership between universities and local government, capitalising on the world-leading experience and skills of the academic community. This will support the development of better data and evidence to inform local decisions to improve people’s health and reduce variations in healthy life expectancy between rich and poor. The funding will also help to stimulate economic growth across the country – particularly in some of the most deprived areas – by creating new jobs within research, as well as identifying local solutions to address some of the key challenges facing our society such as obesity and poor mental wellbeing. Professor Lucy Chappell, NIHR chief executive officer, said: “Millions of people living in Britain’s towns, cities and regions face a huge range of public health challenges, brought into focus during the COVID pandemic. This NIHR research funding will provide a foundation to develop local authorities’ capacity and capability to conduct high-quality research.”
NOVEMBER 2022
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