Blood tests and cancer checks on the HIGH STREET: Hundreds of NHS 'one stop shop' diagnostic hubs are to be set up in town centres across the country
- Empty shops in town centres will be targeted to set up medical diagnostic hubs
- Scheme will set up 160 centres to deliver MRI & CT scans, X-rays & blood tests
- This will allow doctors to quickly diagnose conditions such as cancer, heart disease, strokes and breathing problems
Cancer checks, heart scans and blood tests are set to be carried out in hundreds of NHS ‘one stop shops’ on high streets across the country.
The diagnostic hubs will allow patients to have vital checks close to their home – while ensuring hospitals are left clear for serious care.
Empty shops in town centres and retail parks will be targeted for the scheme which will see 160 centres set up to deliver MRI and CT scans, X-rays, ultrasounds and blood tests.
This will allow doctors to quickly diagnose conditions such as cancer, heart disease, strokes and breathing problems. In time they could be also used for breast cancer screening, antenatal ultrasound scans, ear tests and eye tests.
Empty shops in town centres and retail parks will be targeted for the scheme which will see 160 centres set up to deliver MRI and CT scans, X-rays, ultrasounds and blood tests (file photo)
Health bosses last night stressed the centres would be ‘Covid-free’, hopefully giving patients confidence they will be safe from the virus.
Officials are increasingly concerned that thousands of patients died during the first lockdown because they were afraid of going to hospital.
The toll is expected to grow in the coming years because cases of cancer, heart disease or diabetes that were not diagnosed will escalate until they are impossible to treat.
Figures published by Breast Cancer Now this week revealed nearly one million women had missed out on mammograms because screening programmes had been paused.
Professor Sir Mike Richards was commissioned by NHS boss Sir Simon Stevens to review diagnostic services. His report, presented to the NHS at a board meeting yesterday, said establishing these centres would be quicker and safer for patients.
Sir Mike, who was the first NHS national cancer director and the Care Quality Commission’s chief inspector of hospitals, said: ‘The pandemic has brought into sharper focus the need to overhaul the way our diagnostic services are delivered.
Health bosses last night stressed the centres would be ‘Covid-free’, hopefully giving patients confidence they will be safe from the virus (file photo)
'Not only will these changes make services more accessible and convenient for patients but they will help improve outcomes for patients with cancer and other serious conditions.’
His report also called for a major boost in staffing, with 2,000 radiologists and 4,000 radiographers needed, as well as other support staff.
Officials said the proposals would be implemented with some to be introduced with immediate effect and incorporated into the NHS post-pandemic ‘recovery plans’. Several testing hubs are set to be introduced in the coming weeks.
Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said: ‘Doing these checks in the community rather than in hospital could support trusts as they grapple with a second wave of Covid-19, winter pressures and tackling backlogs of care.’
The wider plan will be implemented over the next five years.
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