Community diagnostics centre could open in Cannock to help reduce backlogs
A community diagnostics centre could be opened in Cannock to help reduce backlogs and meet future demand for tests.
More than 90 community diagnostics centres have already opened across the country in a bid to relieve pressure on health services and the Government aims to have 160 in place by 2025.
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust has submitted a planning application for an extension to expand existing diagnostic facilities at Cannock Chase Hospital.
If Cannock Chase Council approves the plans the current mobile unit will be replaced with a temporary and permanent structure at the site in Brunswick Road.
A design and access statement submitted as part of the application said: “The purpose of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) are to enhance diagnostic capabilities by offering faster and more convenient access for patients and alleviating the strain on hospitals that was intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic. The programme is supported by £2.3bn of investment in diagnostics.
“CDCs will offer a variety of diagnostic checks, scans, and tests closer to patients’ homes. Patients can receive a potentially life-saving diagnosis for a range of conditions, such as cancer, heart and lung disease, in a shorter time frame following a GP referral.
“The Community Diagnostic Centre will provide a comprehensive selection of elective diagnostic services, significantly boosting diagnostic capacity while providing patients with a more personalised and improved diagnostic experience.
"The centres will help to address disparities in health within the wider community and decrease the demand for outpatient referrals and hospital visits, easing the pressure on hospital facilities.
“Cannock currently provides many of the diagnostic services required of a CDC with the exception being CT and a Trust-run MRI service.
"New Static CT and MRI provisions will be installed alongside further ultrasound capacity and the increase in endoscopy capacity.
“The proposed positioning of the Community Diagnostics Centre is to the west of the hospital site, on the opposite site to the Level 1 entrance. The CDC will sit behind the current MRI centre and is north of the Red Lion Surgery and south of the Grove”
