As I said earlier this week, it is fantastic news that the Government has announced that Corby will get a new Community Diagnostic Centre down at the Cottingham Road Lakeside complex, providing local people with quicker access to health services closer to home. This will be one of 19 new CDCs announced nationally to boost capacity by the end of this year. This new CDC will provide services including MRI scans, CT scans, ultrasound scans, cardiology, X-rays, blood tests and respiratory checks. Once fully operational, the new centre will deliver an extra 61,330 tests, checks and scans a year. This is another important investment in our local NHS to help boost capacity and one I really welcome, having been pressing for additional resource.
Understandably, following this announcement, I have received a number of enquiries seeking additional information about the project and so I thought it would be useful to share the information that I have received below from the Department for Health and Social Care:
Tens of thousands of patients in Corby to get quicker access to life-saving tests, scans and checks at new one-stop shop
- Corby will receive a new community diagnostic centre (CDC) providing local people with quicker access to health services closer to home
- CDCs in the Midlands have already delivered over 624,000 tests, checks, and scans since July 2021, helping to cut waiting times for diagnosis and treatment
- This new CDC is one of 19 new CDCs announced today to boost capacity by the end of this year.
Northamptonshire CDC
A new CDC is coming to thousands of patients in Corby – with Northamptonshire CDC set to open.
This new CDC will provide services including MRI scans, CT scans, ultrasound scans, cardiology, X-rays, blood tests and respiratory checks.
Once fully operational, the new centre will deliver an extra 61,330 tests, checks and scans a year.
Background
Community diagnostic centres, backed by £2.3 billion in government funding, are based in convenient locations such as shopping centres, football stadiums and existing hospital or GP sites. They have already delivered an additional 3 million tests, checks and scans since 2021.
By delivering important checks, tests and scans closer to people’s homes, these centres are helping to free up hospital capacity and improve access to CT scans, MRI scans, ultrasound, endoscopy, and blood tests among other services. They support earlier diagnosis, ensuring that patients more quickly get the care they need.
CDCs will focus on treating patients that feature most predominantly on the elective and cancer backlogs including those with breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer.
ENDS
Following this welcome announcement, I am seeking further details from the Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care about next steps for the project and the anticipated delivery timetable. This is, however, extremely good news to help enhance our local NHS services and local system capacity, and I shall be sure to share further updates as I have them.