Contents
What is Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs)?
Community Diagnostic Centres, UK which offers faster and more convenient access to tests, checks, and scans nearer to home. It aims to reduce waiting times and improve outcomes for patients, particularly important for Cancer patients and other serious conditions. This will improve healthcare for those who most need it and address barriers around access to diagnostic services that may currently result in patients not entering suitable care pathways. This will also support those who experience complications due to late presentation of symptoms and delayed diagnosis.
What tests are offered by CDC?
- CT scans
- Blood tests
- Ultrasounds
- X-rays
Where you can find the CDC test Centres in UK?
- You may find the centres on the High Street (or) in Shopping Centres (separate from the hospital).
- For example: NHS England’s CDC, InHealth Group, Alliance Medical
In what ways CDCs reduce NHS waiting list?
Longer opening hours have led to over two million more NHS appointments since July, reducing waiting lists and allowing thousands of patients to receive vital scans, treatments, and consultations earlier than planned. This is part of the NHS’s plan to deliver an NHS fit for the future, ensuring patients can return to work sooner.
Reduced Hospital Demand
- CDCs provide diagnostic services in community settings, alleviating hospital pressure, enabling them to concentrate on complex treatments and decrease waiting times.
Boosted Efficiency
- It facilitate quicker identification of health conditions, facilitating faster referrals for treatment or specialist care, thus expediting the entire healthcare process.
Accessible Community Services
- CDCs’ local locations facilitate patient access to services, reducing travel time and enhancing patient flow, thus reducing diagnosis delays.
Enhanced Capability
- The NHS can efficiently manage more patients by increasing the number of diagnostic centres available, thereby reducing waiting times for necessary tests and treatments.
Simplified Treatment Pathways
- CDCs are vital in ensuring patients receive accurate tests at the right time, facilitating faster diagnoses and facilitating quicker access to treatment.
Costs of CDC Tests in UK (may vary)
- X-rays: £50–£150
- MRI Scans: Approximately £200–£700
- CT Scans: Roughly £300–£800
- Blood Tests: Typically £50–£200 (depends on the complexity)
- Ultrasound: £100–£250
Measures implement by Government to support CDCs
- CDCs open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Allows evening or weekend appointments.
- Requires GP or hospital care team referral.
Minimum core tests for a standard CDC
| Diagnostic modality | Minimum requirements |
| Imaging | CT |
| MRI | |
| Ultrasound | |
| Plain X-ray | |
| Pathology | Phlebotomy |
| NT-proBNP | |
| Point of care testing (POCT) including for some of the following: eGFR, pro-BNP test, anticoagulation change of dose, C-reactive protein, hCG pregnancy test, urinalysis | |
| Physiological science | 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) |
| Ambulatory electrocardiography (for example, Holter, patch monitor) | |
| Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring | |
| Trans-thoracic echocardiogram (TTE) | |
| Spot check pulse oximetry | |
| POCT capillary blood gas assessment | |
| Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) | |
| Spirometry with bronchodilator response | |
| Full lung function tests (lung volumes, gas transfer and spirometry) | |
| Field tests – 6-minute walk test | |
| Sleep studies – multichannel home recordings | |
| CO monitoring | |
| Endoscopy (large CDCs only) | Gastroscopy – trans-nasal endoscopy (TNE) and/or oral oesophago-gastro duodenoscopy (OGD) |
| Colonoscopy | |
| Flexi sigmoidoscopy |
Additional Optional tests with minimum tests
| Diagnostic modality | Test |
| Imaging | Mammography |
| DEXA scan | |
| Dermoscopy | |
| Elastography (for example, fibroscan) | |
| CT colonography | |
| Physiological science | Urodynamics |
| Ophthalmology services | |
| Audiology services | |
| Non-complex neurophysiology (for example, for carpal tunnel syndrome) | |
| Pathology | Simple biopsies that are outpatient in nature – for example, skin and breast – and appropriate to the pathways and services being offered |
| While all CDCs should provide phlebotomy and POCT, other samples can be taken on CDC sites but should be processed through existing pathology routes | |
| Endoscopy | Colon capsule endoscopy |
| Sponge on a string | |
| Cystoscopy | |
| Flexible cystoscopy | |
| Hysteroscopy | |
| Colposcopy |
Is there any problem / complaint with reaching the Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) UK Locations, Types of Tests? Please report any issues using the below comment form.
Rate your experience with the Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) UK: (click on the stars below)