NHS patients to get quicker tests and scans closer to home

• Patients to get quicker checks, tests and scans closer to home as government invests £237 million in new Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs)
• Four CDCs will open, 17 will be expanded, and 15 will receive enhancements to boost diagnostic capacity and get patients seen quicker.
• NHS in England carried out record 29 million diagnostic tests in 2025 thanks to government modernisation and investment

Patients across England will benefit from faster and more convenient tests, checks and scans after the government today announced new in investment in 36 new and expanded Community Diagnostic Centres.

The 36 centres, backed by a £237 million government investment, will significantly boost NHS diagnostic capacity and deliver more care in local communities. 

The funding is part of the extra £26 billion a year this government is investing in the NHS, which has already helped the NHS in England carry out a record 29 million tests and scans in England last year.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: 

Thanks to this government's investment and modernisation, 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.

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.

As part of the record investment we are making in the NHS's recovery, these new CDCs 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.

This is part of the extra £26 billion the government is investing in a new, modern NHS that is fit for the future.

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.

This government's investment in and modernisation of the health service has led it to carry out record levels of diagnostics.

In 2025, the NHS in England carried out a record number of key diagnostic tests - almost 30 million - and has carried out an additional 3.5 million tests in the first 18 months of this government compared to the 18 months prior to July 2024.

Today's investment will accelerate this progress even further. 

Four new CDCs, all equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, will open in Gorton, Luton, Boston and Bideford during 2026/27. 

A further 32 centres will be expanded and improved with new scanning equipment, outpatient clinic space and additional testing facilities. 

Of these,17 will be physically expanded with new rooms and state-of-the-art scanning and diagnostic equipment - such as MRI, CT and ultrasound scanners - significantly increasing the range and volume of tests each centre can offer.

A further 15 will receive targeted enhancements, adding specialist kit, new clinic rooms or additional services such as audiology, ophthalmology and respiratory care to existing facilities.

Together, these upgrades will mean patients can access a greater range of tests at their local centre, reducing the need to travel to hospital. 

These upgrades will start benefiting patients as early as this year. 

Rory Deighton, acute care director at The NHS Alliance, said:

This is a welcome investment in expanding diagnostic capacity through new community diagnostic centres (CDCs), helping patients access tests, checks and scans more quickly and closer to home.

NHS leaders know that CDCs can improve efficiency, cut waiting times and ease pressure on hospitals.

Opening new CDCs is a clear example of how capital investment in the NHS can speed up diagnosis and treatment. A decade of underinvestment in capital has left the health service struggling with outdated buildings and too few modern diagnostic machines. Capital funding is essential if the NHS is to buy the scanners and equipment needed to make it fit for the future.

Dr Bernie Croal, Royal College of Pathologists' President, said:

This additional investment is greatly appreciated. Pathology services form an integral component of Community Diagnostic Centres. From monitoring heart disease to checking kidney function or diagnosing diabetes, the centres bring diagnosis and treatment into community settings. These centres are also instrumental in tackling health inequalities, delivering improved access to diagnostic testing, reduced waiting times and earlier diagnosis for patients.

Community Diagnostic Centres are local hubs that provide patients with access to a wide range of tests, including MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds.

CDCs are located in convenient community settings - from high streets, shopping centres, and retail parks to leisure centres – and many are open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, so patients can access tests closer to where they live, without needing to travel to hospital.

Notes to editors: 

·       Please find more on NHS diagnostic activity here: Statistics » Monthly Diagnostics Data 2025-26 

·       There are currently 170 CDCs in operation across England. Four new ones will open, and 32 are being expanded and improved.  

·       108 CDCs currently operate for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Please find a list of new, refurbished expanded and enhanced CDCs below. 

New (four) 

·       Gorton (Manchester) 

·       Luton 

·       Bideford 

·       Boston 

Expanded (17) 

·       Bridgewater 

·       Broad Marsh (Nottingham) 

·       Exeter 

·       Eltham 

·       Hull and East Riding 

·       Ipswich 

·       Isle of Wight 

·       Leeds Seacroft 

·       Metrocentre, Gateshead 

·       North Bedfordshire 

·       Plymouth 

·       Stoke-on-Trent 

·       Tees Valley 

·       Walton Hospital (Chesterfield) 

·       Warwickshire North CDC (Nuneaton) 

·       Wembley 

·       West Swindon 

Enhanced (15) 

·       Andover 

·       Buckland Community Hospital (Dover) 

·       Cannock Chase 

·       Clacton 

·       Ely 

·       Florence Nightingale (Derby) 

·       Grantham 

·       Milford 

·       Northgate (Great Yarmouth) –  

·       Paddington (Liverpool) 

·       Redcar 

·       Southlands (West Sussex) 

·       West Essex 

·       West Kent 

·       Whitworth Hospital CDC (Matlock) 

Additional quotes:

Kieran Winterburn, Alzheimer's Society's Head of National Influencing, said:

Alzheimer's Society backs the UK Government's investment to expand and strengthen Community Diagnostic Centres across the country, which presents an important opportunity to improve access to a timely diagnosis. It is essential people with dementia benefit fully from this expansion.

More than a third of people living with dementia in England have not received a diagnosis. Without one, people are unable to access the support, care and treatment they need, which can increase the risk of avoidable crises and unnecessary hospital admissions.

Dementia remains the UK's biggest killer, and while the science is flying and new ways to diagnose dementia are emerging, there is more to do to ensure the UK makes the most of these advances. Other countries, including Italy, Germany and Spain, are already offering wider access to biomarker testing, and we now have a real opportunity in the UK to accelerate progress here too.

That's why it is vital the Government's upcoming Modern Service Framework for Dementia and Frailty places a strong and sustained emphasis on improving diagnosis.