Patients to get quicker tests closer to home with extra investment in new Community Diagnostic Centres

Image by Reuben Lopes from Pixabay

Patients across England will benefit from faster and more convenient tests, checks and scans after the government today announced new in investment in 36 new and expanded Community Diagnostic Centres.

The 36 centres, backed by a £237 million government investment, will significantly boost NHS diagnostic capacity and deliver more care in local communities.

In the East Midlands, the investment includes a new CDC in Boston, physical expansions of the CDCs in Nottingham and Chesterfield, and enhanced services at the CDCs in Derby, Grantham and Matlock.

The funding is part of the extra £26 billion a year this government is investing in the NHS, which has already helped the NHS in England carry out a record 29 million tests and scans in England last year.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Thanks to this government’s investment and modernisation, the NHS delivered a record number of tests and scans last year. But there’s still a long way to go before we’re catching disease on time.

“I was one of the lucky ones – my kidney cancer was caught early, and today I’m living cancer-free. But it shouldn’t be a question of luck. The NHS should be there for all of us when we need it, catching illness earlier so we can treat it faster.

“As part of the record investment we are making in the NHS’s recovery, these new CDCs part of the biggest expansion in NHS diagnostics in a generation – continuing the progress we’re making and helping save lives.

“We’re not just investing in more, but delivering differently. The NHS should fit around people’s lives, not require patients to fit their lives around the NHS. Community Diagnostic Centres mean patients can get tests, checks and scans while they’re doing their shopping on the weekend or on the way to pick up the kids from school – without travelling across town to a hospital.

“This is part of the extra £26 billion the government is investing in a new, modern NHS that is fit for the future.”

Professor Stella Vig, National Clinical Director for Elective Care at NHS England, said: “We’re making it easier to access care, and our network of Community Diagnostic Centres deliver important diagnostic tests nearer to people’s homes, with new, expanded or enhanced centres available to patients across England.

“This expansion means even more patients can have vital checks like MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds in a convenient location at a time that suits them, supporting the NHS’s drive to bring down waiting times even further.”

The government’s investment in and modernisation of the health service has led it to carry out record levels of diagnostics.

In 2025, the NHS in England carried out a record number of key diagnostic tests – almost 30 million – and has carried out an additional 3.5 million tests in the first 18 months of this government compared to the 18 months prior to July 2024.

The investment will accelerate this progress even further. Four new CDCs, all equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, will open in Gorton, Luton, Boston and Bideford during 2026/27.

A further 32 centres will be expanded and improved with new scanning equipment, outpatient clinic space and additional testing facilities. Of these,17 will be physically expanded with new rooms and state-of-the-art scanning and diagnostic equipment – such as MRI, CT and ultrasound scanners – significantly increasing the range and volume of tests each centre can offer.

A further 15 will receive targeted enhancements, adding specialist kit, new clinic rooms or additional services such as audiology, ophthalmology and respiratory care to existing facilities.

Together, these upgrades will mean patients can access a greater range of tests at their local centre, reducing the need to travel to hospital.

These upgrades will start benefiting patients as early as this year.

Community Diagnostic Centres are local hubs that provide patients with access to a wide range of tests, including MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds.

CDCs are located in convenient community settings – from high streets, shopping centres, and retail parks to leisure centres – and many are open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, so patients can access tests closer to where they live, without needing to travel to hospital.