Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has been selected as one of 40 sites across England for a new Community Diagnostic Centre to be built, providing a one-stop-shop for key testing to boost early diagnoses, and speed up and increase referrals.
Commenting, Mark Logan MP said:
“We know that many people have not been coming forward for key tests throughout the pandemic, which has contributed to the backlog, and which can result in worsening health outcomes.
Through investing in early diagnosis and increasing NHS capacity we will be able to treat serious illnesses sooner and save lives – delivering better health outcomes for people in Bolton and across the North West.”
The centre will provide services closer to home for people in North West to meet rising demand, as part of the Conservative Government’s plan to tackle the NHS backlog and catch health issues quickly.
Bolton’s new Community Diagnostic Centre will achieve earlier diagnoses for patients through easier, faster, and more direct access to the full range of scans and tests needed to understand patients’ symptoms – including breathlessness and cancer symptoms.
The centre will also help reduce the risk of Covid transmission, and contributed to the NHS’ net zero efforts by reducing the number of patients journeys required in North West through providing multiple scans and tests in a single visit.
The pandemic has meant that many people with health concerns have refrained from coming forward for checks and scans, while non-urgent procedures were postponed to allow the NHS to focus on the Covid response. Boosting diagnostic services is key to supporting the NHS in clearing the backlog.
The Conservative Government announced on 6 September 2021 an extra £5.4 billion to support the NHS as it responds to Covid over the next six months. This additional funding is on top of the £36 billion already committed to health and social care over the next three years through the Health and Care Levy.
The funding raised through the Levy includes £8 billion to tackle backlogs and help the NHS increase capacity on pre-pandemic levels by providing an extra 9 million checks, scans, and operations for patients across the country.
ENDS