Thousands of patients in Nottinghamshire are set to benefit from quicker access to tests, checks and scans – with a new community diagnostic centres set to open in the region.
These one-stop-shops will be in the heart of the community, with patients set to receive quicker access to treatment and lifesaving diagnostic tests and 19 of the facilities in total opening across the country. The new centres will be based in Corby, Northampton, Mansfield and Telford.
Mansfield CDC ( Community Diagnostics Centre )
Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust submitted plans to Mansfield District Council for a purpose-built ‘Community Diagnostics Centre’ that will run alongside its existing Mansfield Community Hospital in Stockwell Gate, Mansfield.
The Centre will house a ‘one-stop shop’ for patients to access the tests and investigations they need in a single visit, helping them to give them an answer to their concerns – including with an ‘all clear’ or diagnosis – sooner.
Getting a rapid diagnosis for conditions such as cancer will help patients access the treatments they need more quickly – something that could be genuinely life-saving, as earlier diagnosis is key to improving survival rates and quality of life for those suffering chronic diseases.
Checks available at the new Centre will include a host of X-rays, scans and tests for a range of other conditions, including cancer and other long-term conditions – like heart and lung disease.
The plans could see the purpose-built facility open its doors to its first patients as soon as autumn 2024 to complement the services already provided at the Trust’s King’s Mill, Newark and Mansfield Community Hospital sites.
David Ainsworth, Director of Strategy and Partnerships for Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust, said:
“Community Diagnostic Centres are redefining the way patients access tests across the country and we’re delighted to share our own plans for a new state-of-the-art Centre right here in Mansfield.
“Our NHS staff are already providing the latest advancements in diagnostic treatment and care. If approved, these plans will boost those efforts and ensure that patients can access the life-saving tests, checks and treatment they need even more quickly.
“While there is still some way to go before those plans are finalised, that would be great news for patients across Nottinghamshire – and for the hundreds of people who we hope to recruit into the medical, nursing and support roles we will need to run this exciting new facility.”
Amanda Sullivan, Chief Executive at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said: “This facility will help so many patients across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to be seen and diagnosed quickly and efficiently.
“Although the Centre will be based in Mansfield, this new facility – if approved – will be a huge boost for the area as a whole, as patients across the whole of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire who will be able to benefit from the facilities available there.
“It will be great to see the positive impact this will have on patient care in the future.”
The plans for the project will soon be shared online over the coming days, with members of the public being invited to comment on the plans before they are formally considered by Mansfield District Council’s Planning Committee later this year.
The Centre will be built where a derelict building that is awaiting demolition currently stands on the Mansfield Community Hospital site.
• Plans for new community diagnostics centre at Nottinghamshire hospital
CDCs, backed by £2.3 billion in government funding, are based in convenient locations such as shopping centres and football stadiums and have already delivered an additional 3 million tests, checks and scans. The new centres will provide a number of diagnostic functions, including:
- MRI scans
- CT scans
- ultrasound scans
- cardiology
- X-rays
- blood tests
- respiratory checks
Once fully operational, the new centres will deliver an extra 261,076 tests, checks and scans a year. Diagnostic services, including cancer screening, were impacted by the pandemic.
CDCs are central to the government’s elective recovery plan and the PM’s priority of reducing NHS waiting lists to tackle the backlogs in the NHS and social care, ensuring patients get the diagnosis and treatment they need as quickly as possible.
The total number of operational CDCs across England stands at 92, of which 15 are based in the Midlands.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:
“Rapid diagnosis offers reassurance to patients, reduces waiting lists, and crucially saves lives.
“CDCs have been fundamental to this effort, delivering over 3 million extra tests which are helping to diagnose conditions from cancer to lung disease more quickly across the country.
“The new centres will take us even further, utilising cutting-edge MRI, CT and X-ray machine to transform the way we deliver care closer to people’s homes helping tens of thousands of people.”
NHS National Director of Elective Recovery, Sir James Mackey, said:
“The NHS’s ambitious elective recovery plan, published just over a year ago, had these innovative ‘one stop shops’ at its heart.
“Since then they have played a key role in helping us virtually eliminate the number of people waiting more than two years for treatment and keeping the NHS on track to do the same for people waiting over 18 months by the end of April, with the centres – often based in convenient places such as in shopping centres, high streets and community hospitals – now having delivered an incredible 3 million tests and checks.
“These 19 new centres will boost access for tens of thousands more patients and build on the great work of NHS staff in recovering services, helping the NHS deliver an extra 9 million tests a year by 2025 – an increase in capacity of more than a quarter on pre-pandemic levels.”
Dozens of new surgical spaces are also being created to bring down waiting times. An estimated 780,000 additional surgeries and outpatient appointments will be provided at 37 new surgical hubs, 10 expanded existing hubs and 81 new theatres across England.
Just over a year ago, the government and NHS set out the Elective Recovery Plan to recover NHS services and give patients greater control over their own health. Significant progress has since been made – with healthcare workers virtually eliminating the longest waits for treatment and cutting 18-month waits by more than 50%.
The government has also set up an Elective Recovery Taskforce unlock spare capacity in the independent sector to tackle the backlogs. It is made up of academics and experts from the NHS and independent sector, who will help deliver on the remaining targets in the Elective Recovery Plan – such asvirtually eliminating 18-month waits by April 2023 and waits of longer than a year by March 2025.
- The government has approved four new community diagnostic centres (CDCs) in the Midlands, providing local people with quicker access to tests and treatments close to home
- CDCs in the Midlands have already delivered over 624,000 tests, checks and scans across the country since July 2021, helping to bust the COVID-19 backlogs
- The total number of operational CDCs is 92, amounting to over 57% of the government’s intention to open up to 160 CDCs to perform up to 9 million additional tests a year by 2025
