Birmingham’s first Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) has officially opened providing local residents with a one-stop shop for appointments to diagnose an array of illnesses as part of work to tackle health inequalities and reduce waiting lists across the NHS.
Located at Washwood Heath Health and Wellbeing Centre, more than 45,000 patients each year will benefit from the £2.18 million CDC, which provides the latest cutting-edge diagnostic imaging technology for x-ray, MRI and ultrasound, alongside heart investigations and access to blood tests.
Open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm, the CDC provides convenient access and free parking for patients referred by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB).
One of the centre’s first patients, Bradley Hunt, who had an ultrasound scan as part of a routine check-up, joined NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board’s Interim Chair, Professor Patrick Vernon, and Councillor Mariam Khan, Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, to cut the ribbon to formally open the centre at a special event attended by NHS staff and local dignitaries.
(Pictured above: Councillor Mariam Khan, Councillor Karen Grinsell and Dr Clara Day, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Birmingham and Solihull.)
David Byrne, Divisional Director of Operations at UHB, said: “This new facility will be a huge benefit for patients, with more local access to such services allowing for shorter journeys, and patients not having to receive their test or scan inside the busy hospital setting, which can invoke anxiety for many patients.
“By providing a more local service with these essential diagnostic services all in one place, the NHS can provide a diagnosis more quickly, consequently this allows for quicker access to treatments where appropriate too - helping to improve health outcomes for our communities.
“UHB has invested significantly in services to reduce waiting times following the COVID-19 pandemic which saw waiting lists grow. Our aim is to continue to bring these waiting lists down and ensure patients receive the care they deserve.
“The CDC along with the new Heartlands Treatment Centre, which offers a range of diagnostic, and day care services, and the new wards built at Good Hope, Heartlands and Queen Elizabeth hospitals, are a key part of this.”
Professor Patrick Vernon, Interim Chair, NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board said: “This is a significant and important step for our health and care system, helping to ensure that diagnostic services are accessible to our patients and communities closer to home, reducing healthcare inequalities.”
Malcolm Twite, Executive Director of Property and Operations at Community Health Partnerships, said: “We are really pleased to have been able to work with our health partners to deliver this excellent facility for the local community.
“Our buildings are core to the NHS estate and ideally placed to support the NHS in meeting clinical and patient needs.”
The Washwood Heath CDC is delivered in collaboration with Birmingham and Solihull (BaS) LIFTCo and their Management services provider Prime plc.
Hannah Cashmore, Director at BaS LIFTCo, said: “It has been a privilege to bring our experience of developing and investing in high-quality healthcare facilities to this project.
“BaS LIFTCo and Prime, in partnership with the NHS, delivered the original Washwood facility, which has proven to be a valuable healthcare asset in this area of Birmingham.
“As property specialists, BaS and Prime have worked alongside an expert and multi-stakeholder team of clinicians, public sector partners, designers, and contractors to drive delivery of this facility at pace to align with NHS England’s ambitious national Community Diagnostic Centre programme.
“The introduction of this service aligns with our original vision for this facility, which was to integrate healthcare delivery through the co-location of services to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes of the local community.
“The opening of this CDC represents another successful delivery of high-quality health and care spaces by the BaS LIFTCo and Prime team. We would like to congratulate everyone involved in bringing this project to fruition.”
CDCs are part of the Government’s £2.3 billion national investment to open up to 160 CDCs by 2025 closer to patients’ homes, helping to diagnose a range of conditions including cancer, heart and lung disease quicker and ensuring patients are treated faster.
The Washwood Heath Health and Wellbeing Centre is one of the biggest centres in England, providing a comprehensive range of diagnostic services in addition to the GP and community services already available.
You can find out more about the Washwood Heath CDC here: https://www.uhb.nhs.uk/about/sites/washwood-heath-community-diagnostic-centre.htm