A new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) is being developed in Chelmsley Wood, opening to patients in Spring 2025.
Saqib Bhatti MBE, MP for Meriden and Solihull East, recently visited the Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre site to see how it’s shaping up and to learn more about the benefits it will bring to local citizens and patients.
The CDC will provide access to a wide range of diagnostic tests in one central place, away from a busy hospital site, for patients across North Solihull and the greater Birmingham area.
Known as North Solihull CDC, it will be the first of its kind in Birmingham and Solihull to be situated in a retail location, in the shopping centre at Chelmsley Wood.
It will offer high tech scanning, including MRI, CT, ultrasounds and X-ray, as well as endoscopy and other health screening services, helping to detect a range of conditions quicker, ensuring patients can then be treated faster.
Saqib said: “I was delighted to visit the site for the new CDC, where work is progressing at pace ahead of its opening in Spring 2025, bringing vital health resource to Solihull. Having secured the money for this project, I know that this will be a huge step forward for the community in North Solihull and the borough, ensuring that patients are diagnosed and treated more efficiently. My focus now is making sure that the construction carries on and the CDC opens up by Spring 2025 as planned.”
The CDC is being developed in partnership with NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB), University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and InHealth, the UK’s largest specialist provider of diagnostic solutions.
These organisations are working with LCP Group, landlords for the building in which the CDC will be located.
Faith Button, Chief Delivery Officer from NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB, said: “It was fantastic to show Saqib round the new site, which is coming along quickly and on track for a Spring 2025 opening. The centre will ensure more checks, tests and scans are available sooner for our local populations and will be a fantastic resource for local people, helping them to get the diagnosis and care they need as soon as possible.”
Martin Richardson, Hospital Executive Director of Solihull Hospital (part of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust) and Diagnostic and Cancer – Senior Responsible Officer (for the ICB) said: “The new CDC will improve access to important scans and diagnostic tests for local patients in a purpose-built environment away from a main hospital setting.
“This will facilitate rapid GP direct access as well as providing non-urgent hospital diagnostics closer to communities. In addition, through offering a range of diagnostic tests and screenings, the facility will help to support early disease detection and prevention, ultimately improving future health outcomes for North Solihull and the greater Birmingham area."
Geoff Searle, InHealth Chief Executive, said: “We're incredibly pleased to be working together with our NHS partners in the Midlands to create this new centre, which signifies another step forward in providing additional capacity, improving health outcomes and increasing the range, scale and accessibility of services for the local population of North Solihull.
“InHealth has been working in partnership with the NHS for more than 30 years, with more than 20 existing Community Diagnostic Centres in England, so we’re delighted to be expanding this model across the country."
Rakesh Joshi, Director at LCP, part of M Core, managers of M Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre, said: “We are thrilled to welcome the new CDC to M Chelmsley Wood.
"This has been a significant and longstanding collaboration with InHealth, and we are excited to see it come to fruition.
"The CDC will offer substantial benefits to the local community by reducing pressures on large hospitals and providing essential diagnostic services closer to home.
"Furthermore, the presence of the CDC is expected to increase both dwell time and footfall at the shopping centre, enhancing the overall experience for our visitors.
"We look forward to seeing the positive impact this development will bring to Chelmsley Wood and its residents.”
The new centre is also part of a national programme to help continue the recovery of services left overwhelmed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government has committed a £2.3billion national investment to open up to 160 CDCs by 2025 providing approximately nine million additional tests a year for people nationwide.