The Health Secretary has asserted that securing a timely cancer diagnosis “shouldn’t be a question of luck,” as he announced a substantial funding injection to facilitate patient checks closer to home.
The government is investing £237 million into new and improved community diagnostic centres (CDCs) across England. Wes Streeting described the new CDCs as “part of the biggest expansion in NHS diagnostics in a generation.”
“The NHS delivered a record number of tests and scans last year but there’s still a long way to go before we’re catching disease on time,” Mr Streeting said.
“I was one of the lucky ones – my kidney cancer was caught early, and today I’m living cancer-free.
“But it shouldn’t be a question of luck.
“The NHS should be there for all of us when we need it, catching illness earlier so we can treat it faster.”
The investment will lead to four new CDCs in Gorton, Luton, Boston and Bideford, which will open in 2026/27.
Some 17 CDCs will be expanded and 15 will receive enhancements to boost diagnostic capacity, the Department of Health and Social Care said.
Mr Streeting went on: “These new CDCs are part of the biggest expansion in NHS diagnostics in a generation – continuing the progress we’re making and helping save lives.
“We’re not just investing in more, but delivering differently. The NHS should fit around people’s lives, not require patients to fit their lives around the NHS.
“Community diagnostic centres mean patients can get tests, checks and scans while they’re doing their shopping on the weekend or on the way to pick up the kids from school – without travelling across town to a hospital.”
It comes as the NHS plans to publish its latest performance figures on Thursday.
The latest data shows that the waiting list for routine hospital treatment remains at its lowest level since early 2023.
An estimated 7.25 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of January, relating to 6.13 million patients.
A total of 135,657 people had been waiting more than a year to start routine hospital treatment at the end of January – the lowest figure for waits of more than a year since August 2020.
The figures also revealed that a total of 72.8% of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days in January, down from 77.4% in December.
This is below the current target of 75%.
Professor Stella Vig, national clinical director for elective care at NHS England, said: “We’re making it easier to access care, and our network of community diagnostic centres deliver important diagnostic tests nearer to people’s homes, with new, expanded or enhanced centres available to patients across England.
“This expansion means even more patients can have vital checks like MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds in a convenient location at a time that suits them, supporting the NHS’s drive to bring down waiting times even further.”