Newark MP and British Medical Association (BMA) have difference of opinion on Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) with new ones set to open in Lincoln and Nottingham

An MP has announced the latest rollout of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) that his government says will tackle long waiting lists and lead to earlier identification of illnesses.

In the latest announcement, CDCs are coming to both Nottingham and Lincoln.

However, the British Medical Association (BMA) says expansion of independently-run community diagnostic centres is not a substitute for investment in NHS workforce.

Newark and Bingham MP Robert Jenrick, the government’s Immigration Minister, said: “Cutting waiting lists is one of this government’s top priorities. We are making good progress on tackling the longest waits, to ensure patients get the care they need when they need it.

“The elective recovery plan set clear ambitions to eliminate long waits for planned NHS treatment. The NHS continues to focus on its target to eradicate waits of longer than a year for elective care by March 2025.

“The NHS had ambitions to virtually eliminate waits of 78 weeks or more by April 2023.

“Thanks to the incredible work of NHS staff, official NHS England statistics show that by May 2023 the total number of patients waiting more than 78 weeks was 11,450, a reduction of over 94% from the peak of almost 125,000 in September 2021.

“Most patients need a diagnostic test, and our ambition is that 95% of patients needing a diagnostic test will receive it within six weeks by March 2025.

Mr Jenrick said CDCs will focus on treating patients closer to home that feature most predominantly on the elective and cancer backlogs including those with breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer.

“These make up around half of all new cancer cases, and our CDC rollout is supporting earlier diagnosis, ensuring that patients more quickly get the care they need,” he said.

“These new CDCs will also, where possible, prioritise pre and post operative testing for patients treated in our expanding number of surgical hubs, to further drive elective activity and cut waiting lists.

“I am pleased to announce that Lincoln CDC at Lincoln Science and Innovation Park, Beevor Street, Lincoln, (LN6 7DJ) will be opening, along with another CDC to be opened in Nottingham, with more details coming soon.

“These CDCs will increase diagnostic capacity and reduce waiting times, with state-of-the-art equipment to deliver CT, MRI, ultrasound, X-ray, phlebotomy, respiratory, cardiology and sleep studies tests and scans.

“Activity will be delivered at Lincoln CDC from December 2023. Once fully operational, Lincoln CDC will have capacity to deliver up to 86,000 checks, tests and scans a year.

“114 of our new CDCs are currently operational across the country and have delivered over 4.6 million checks, tests and scans since July 2021, as part of the biggest recovery programme in history.

Responding to the announcement, BMA workforce lead Dr Latifa Patel said: “It is crucial that more is done to help patients on waiting lists with whatever capacity is available given just how many people are waiting for treatment and procedures.

“While this additional support should hopefully go some way towards patients having more efficient access to tests, concerns remain over how plans for the expansion of the use of the independent sector to cut diagnostic waiting lists will work.

“We do not have enough staff working in the NHS or the private sector.

“Doctors working in the private sector are also under pressure, so there is no guarantee that diverting more patients to the independent sector will cut NHS backlogs.

“Any expansion of community diagnostics centres needs to be carefully implemented to ensure that it does not just shift the problem – resulting in longer waiting times for private patients needing treatment and still not making a significant difference to the NHS backlog.

“This situation is really a result of a failure to adequately resource the NHS and to address the workforce crisis which is fundamental to having the capacity to deal with waiting lists.

“The government’s goal should ultimately be long-term investment in the NHS to ensure the best possible value for public money and a sustainable healthcare system that avoids an overreliance on the independent sector.

“We currently have a situation where both consultants and junior doctors are taking industrial action over years of pay erosion.

“It makes little sense to invest more into the independent sector but ignore the major crisis facing the current NHS workforce who can actually care for these patients and help to cut waiting lists.

“Diagnostics is just one part of the problem, and even with an earlier diagnosis, there is still the issue of how we treat those patients who are referred for treatment.”