THOUSANDS more people will have quicker access to life-saving tests, checks and scans thanks to a ‘one-stop-shop’ opening in Halton.

Two new community diagnostic centres (CDC) are set to open in the north west this year - in Halton and Liverpool.

The additional sites will run alongside the current centres at Warrington Hospital and Clatterbridge Hospital and will deliver additional service to a standard CDC.

The Halton CDC will be located in Runcorn Shopping City as an extension to the health hub which opened last December.

And it will offer services such as sleep studies, phlebotomy, and ultrasound, joining the existing services of audiology, dietetics and orthoptics.

This comes as part of the additional 19 community diagnostics centres announced on Monday – which was the same day Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak visited with patients and staff at Oldham CDC which is managed by Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and opened in December 2022.

He said: “These centres bring together all the different tests, checks and scans that people need, take them out of hospitals, closer to people’s homes in the community, making it easier for them to access that treatment, and get it far quicker.

“It’s really working. It’s making a major difference in cutting waiting lists and that’s why we’re rolling out almost 150 of these across the country.”

In this, the NHS’ 75th year, CDCs are central to the recovery plan, including reducing backlogs and waiting times by providing additional capacity for potentially life-saving tests, including cancer screening.

New data shows that the 92 operational CDCs in England have already significantly bolstered NHS capacity as part of the most ambitious catch-up plan in NHS history, delivering an additional three million checks since the programme started in July 2021, helping patients to get the diagnosis they need as quickly as possible so they can access the treatment they need where and when they need it. And the further capacity

Once referred by a GP, pharmacist or hospital, patients can access CDCs in their local area to get any concerning symptoms checked out.

Lucy Gardner, director of strategy and partnerships at Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We are pleased to have received this funding to enhance our offer at the new Halton Health Hub by utilising the space available at Runcorn Shopping City to provide a CDC.

"This investment is another key step forward in our efforts to ensure faster access to tests and quicker diagnosis and treatment for our communities.
"This new centre will help us drive forward further improvements not only to the time people wait but also their experience of care with a much better environment.”

Dr Michael Gregory, medical director for NHS England North West, said: “Faster diagnosis saves lives, so it’s such a positive for our region that these additional centres have been approved and will be able to deliver those diagnostics this year.

“Thousands more tests and checks will be available faster, and closer to the homes of our patients – providing reassurance and reducing waiting lists.

“The extra capacity for diagnostics will no doubt save lives, and these centres will be much more convenient for the communities who access them.”

Since the first CDCs opened they have already played a ‘valuable role’ in helping the NHS to reduce the backlogs, and in November 2022 CDCs delivered approximately 5 per cent of all diagnostic activity nationally.