The Milton Keynes MPs have welcomed the news that the government has delivered an extra 4 million tests, checks and scans and that eight new Community Diagnostic Centres (CDC) will open this year.
Earlier this year, MKFM reported that Milton Keynes is set to get two new diagnostic centres, with one opening in Whitehouse and another opening in Central Milton Keynes.
Community diagnostic centres have delivered over four million checks, tests and scans for patients across the country since July 2021, cutting waiting lists and giving patients quicker access to care.
Lloyds Court will provide services including ophthalmology, DEXA, X-ray, ultrasound, phlebotomy, and Point of Care Testing.
Once fully operational, the new centre will deliver an extra 221,214 tests, checks and scans a year.
Whitehouse Health Centre will provide services including MRI, echocardiography, sleep studies and endoscopy. Once fully operational, the new centre will deliver an extra 52,550 tests, checks and scans a year.
It is hoped that the new centre's will help to provide earlier diagnoses for patients, a reduction in hospital visits and wait times and a contribution to the NHS' net zero ambitions.
Iain Stewart, the MP for Milton Keynes South said: “This Conservative Government is committed to tackling the backlogs in our NHS as it will allow everyone to have longer, healthier and, ultimately, happier lives.
“That is why I am grateful that two Community Diagnostic Centres will be opening here in Milton Keynes, giving more constituents the results they need to get further healthcare and tackling the backlogs.”
The MP for Milton Keynes North, Ben Everitt MP said: “Early diagnosis is so critical to beating a whole range of horrible diseases. Last year the Government announced two new Community Diagnostic Centres for MK, with one in Whitehouse and one in CMK.
“We're committed to expanding healthcare in MK and this is a crucial element. I'm proud we've secured the funding for the brand new Women and Children’s Hospital, as well as a range of other additions and improvements since I've been elected. I'll keep fighting for more and better services for our communities.”
The government is set to open 160 of the facilities by March 2025, with a further eight due to open before the end of the year, the Health and Social Care Secretary has confirmed, providing capacity for more than 742,000 extra tests a year once fully operational, bolstering access to care.
The government is investing £2.3 billion to transform diagnostic services, with 108 CDCs already up and running. They have opened in a range of settings since the programme started in July 2021, including shopping centres and university campuses.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “These new centres will benefit tens of thousands of patients, cutting out unnecessary hospital visits and delivering closer, more convenient care.
“Patients will be able to access a range of life-saving tests, including MRI scans, X-rays, and respiratory checks – speeding up the diagnosis of illnesses like cancer and heart disease.
“We have already made significant progress in bringing down waiting lists – one of the government’s top five priorities - and community diagnostic centres are a key part of this, with over four million vital checks delivered so far.”
GPs can refer patients to a centre so they can access life-saving checks closer to home and be diagnosed for a range of conditions, rather than travelling to hospital. The centres are not only more convenient for patients but are also more efficient for staff and free up clinicians’ time to help further cut the waiting lists.
NHS national director of elective recovery, Sir James Mackey, said: “These ‘one-stop-shops’ play a key role the NHS’s elective recovery plan, and the new CDCs are a welcome addition to more than 100 existing community diagnostic centres, which have already delivered more than four million tests and checks.
"Our elective recovery plan set out how the NHS will deliver nine million more tests and checks per year by 2025, and the work of these diagnostic centres – some in convenient spots including shopping centres – are excellent examples of the innovative work being done across the health service to ensure patients get the tests and checks they need as quickly as possible."
