A hub dedicated to reducing hospital backlogs caused by COVID is coming to the Isle of Wight, the Government has announced.
Usually based in community settings such as shopping centres and football stadiums, community diagnostic centres (CDC) are designed to speed up diagnosis of conditions from cancer, to heart or lung disease.
The Island is one of ten new centres set to be rolled out across the country as part of a £2.3 billion project.
It's not yet known where the Island's centre will be based.
The hubs are said to house a range of cutting-edge equipment, including MRI, CT, X-ray and ultrasound scanners. They will offer services including blood tests or heart rhythm and blood pressure monitoring.
Health and Social Care Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:
"My number one priority is delivering for patients and we’re getting on with the job of tackling the issues that affect people most - ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and dentists.
"Today I’m announcing the approval of 10 new community diagnostic centres which are helping to bust the Covid backlogs by delivering vital tests, checks and scans in local areas.
"They have delivered over two million checks over the past year, diagnosing conditions from cancer to lung disease – and we’re on track to open up to 160 centres across the country by 2025, delivering an additional 17 million checks."
Once referred by a GP, pharmacist or hospital, patients can access CDCs in their local area and get any concerning symptoms checked out.
Reacting to the news, Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely said:
"Great news that the Conservative Government has given the green light to the Isle of Wight community diagnostic centre, enabling Islanders to access earlier diagnostic tests closer to home.
"I’ll work with others to ensure we get this new centre in place as quickly as possible."
NHS medical director for transformation, Vin Diwakar, said:
"It is testament to the hard work of staff across the NHS that we have now delivered more than two millions tests and checks at our one stop shops and latest figures show we have the lowest number of patients waiting for tests and checks since we published our elective recovery plan in February.
"We know that rapid diagnosis saves lives, and it is great news that more of these centres have been approved to provide checks and scans in the heart of local communities, making services more accessible and convenient while also helping to improve outcomes for patients with cancer and other serious conditions."
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