Quicker and closer diagnosis coming for South West NHS patients
Community Diagnostic Centres will help tackle long wait times for health tests
The NHS is offering patients in the South West more opportunities for scans and investigations with the launch of fixed and mobile diagnostic centres.
A series Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) will be opened across the region, including in Wiltshire, to help reduce waiting list times.
There's already a mobile centre based at Salisbury District Hospital, with more set to be rolled out across the region.
Dr Michael Marsh, NHS England’s South West Regional Medical Director, said waiting lists had reached record highs in the last year.
The CDCs will be able to carry out x-ray, MRI, CT and ultrasound scans, as well as blood-tests, endoscopy and a range of tests for heart and lung problems.
Easier access for patients
A report for the NHS highlighted that the capacity for diagnostics in England was not up to scratch.
It came with the recommendation of separating emergency and elective diagnostic tests, which Dr Marsh says is a key element of the CDCs.
“A number of people will have experienced it. You're due to have a scan that's been booked weeks or months ahead in a hospital.
“You go in and you find it's delayed or cancelled because there's been an emergency from a road traffic accident, for example,” he said.
An additional principle of the CDCs is to ensure they are easily accessible for patients by taking them off hospital sites.
Dr Marsh said: “Parking, we all know, can be a challenge in hospitals and also if it is on the hospital site, even in a separate building, you can just see how if pressures really came, the same thing would happen with emergency and elective.”
Reduce record wait times
Current waiting times on diagnostic tests have reached record highs, Dr Marsh told Greatest Hits Radio.
And the launch of the CDC’s will help tackle what he called a “significant” challenge.
“I think it will remain a challenge for another year or two, probably at the least, but hopefully we will in a steady way be able to drive those down.”
The mobile CDC’s will be of particular benefit in counties like Wiltshire, Dr Marsh explained.
The scattered nature of the population between the City’s of Salisbury and Bath, and up to Swindon, mean it’s not as straightforward as somewhere like London, meaning solutions vary across the country depending on Geography.
“Though many of the tests can be and should be done in these centres, it is extremely useful using mobile scanners that can go places and support and make that access easier for patients.”