Private clinics to be built to help cut NHS waiting times
Thirteen new community diagnostic centres will be opened with eight being run privately
In an effort to cut NHS waiting lists, the Government has turned to the private sector to run new community diagnostic centres (CDCs).
Thirteen new centres will be opened across England, with eight of the new facilities being operated by the private sector – although services will be free to patients – the other five will be run by the NHS.
It's thought these new centres will be able to carry out an additional 742,000 scans, checks and tests per year.
Figures released last month revealed NHS waiting lists stood at 7.47 million at the end of May, the highest number since records began in 2007.
Private centres will operate similarly to their NHS counterparts, the Government said, but staff will be employed by private operators, which also own the buildings.
Where will the new community diagnostic centres be?
There are thirteen new CDCs in the following places:
- Thurrock CDC (Southend)
- Northampton CDC, Northampton
- South Birmingham CDC, Highter’s Heath, Birmingham
- Camborne and Redruth CDC, Redruth
- Devon and Torbay CDC, Torbay
- East Somerset CDC, Yeovi
- North Bristol CDC, Bristol
- Weston CDC, Weston-Super-Mare
- Barking CDC (St George's), Hornchurch
- Grantham CDC (Skegness), Skegness
- Lincoln CDC, Lincoln
- Nottingham City CDC, Nottingham
- Stoke-on-Trent CDC, Hanley
Sites in the South West – located in Redruth, Bristol, Torbay, Yeovil and Weston Super Mare – will be operated by diagnostics company InHealth.
Other private facilities will also be located in Southend, Northampton and south Birmingham and join four already operating in Brighton, north Solihull, Oxford and Salford.
The new NHS-run sites are in Hornchurch, Skegness, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stoke-on-Trent.
The Government pledged to open 160 CDCs by 2030. There are currently 114 operating, which have carried out 4.6 million tests, checks and scans since July 2021.
“We must use every available resource "
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “We must use every available resource to deliver life-saving checks to ease pressure on the NHS.
“By making use of the available capacity in the independent sector, and enabling patients to access this diagnostic capacity free at the point of need, we can offer patients a wider choice of venues to receive treatment and in doing so diagnose major illnesses quicker and start treatments sooner.
Labour wants more use of private capacity
Labour believes the Government is currently not making enough use of private capacity.
The party claims 331,000 patients waiting for NHS care could have been treated since January 2022.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting, said: "The Conservatives are failing to make use of private sector capacity and patients are paying the price.
"No-one should be waiting in pain while hospital beds that could be used lie empty. The next Labour government will use spare capacity in the private sector to get patients seen faster."
'Significant progress' with waiting lists
Health Minister and Elective Recovery Taskforce Chair Will Quince said: “We have already made significant progress in bringing down waiting lists, with 18 month waits virtually eliminated.
“I chaired the Elective Recovery Taskforce to turbocharge these efforts and help patients get the treatment they need.
“These actions will bolster capacity across the country and give patients more choice over where and when they are treated.”
Hear the latest news on Clyde 1 on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.