Secretary of State for Health and Social Care opens new NHS Community Diagnostic Centre

The Wood Green Community Diagnostics Centre (CDC) offers blood tests, x-rays, ultrasound scans and specialist eye tests. It is expected to have provided over 40,000 tests to patients by the spring. It is currently operating Monday to Friday but will open seven days a week in the near future.

The centre is based in two former retail units on the ground floor of The Mall Shopping Centre in Wood Green, North London. The location was chosen because of the wide variety of public transport links to other parts of Haringey and beyond, meaning patients could have a shorter or easier journey than travelling to a hospital for these tests.

It is operated by Whittington Health NHS Trust, but includes services run by other NHS organisations, including Ophthalmology services which are provided by Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust – an example of how the NHS in North Central London is working together to ensure local people get the fastest, safest care possible. All the services are provided in addition to existing local NHS services, to provide extra capacity.

The centre is already proving popular — with residents commenting on the ease of accessing their appointments within a shopping centre.

Alongside the Secretary of State at the official opening was Professor Sir Mike Richards CBE. In 2020 he wrote a report for NHS England which recommended additional diagnostics facilities be created in places away from main hospital sites, including on the high street and in retail locations to provide quicker and easier access to a range of tests to support earlier diagnosis, greater convenience to patients and the drive to reduce health inequalities. The Wood Green Community Diagnostic Centre is a direct result of these recommendations.

As she cut the ribbon to officially open the new centre, which currently employs around 25 staff, many recruited from within the local area, the Rt. Hon. Thérèse Coffey MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said:

“My number one priority is delivering for patients and we’re getting on with the job of tackling the issues that affect people most - ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors, and dentists. ”

To mark the completion of the 9-month project to provide these facilities to local people Whittington Health NHS Trust’s Chief Executive Helen Brown said:

“Bringing these new services to Wood Green is part of Whittington Health’s commitment to helping local people live longer, healthier lives. I’d like to thank all of the team involved in making the Community Diagnostic Centre a reality, making it possible for local people to get fast and convenient access to the tests they need.”

Work is already underway to expand the centre so it can offer even more types of tests. Building work will begin later this year to expand into the unit’s lower ground floor with the installation of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and CT (Computed Tomography) scanners. This will enable even more local people to access rapid diagnostic services in a modern, friendly and convenient setting.

NHS medical director for transformation, Vin Diwakar, said: “It is testament to the hard work of staff across the NHS that we have now delivered more than two millions tests at checks at CDCs nationally and latest figures show we have the lowest number of patients waiting for tests and checks since we published our elective recovery plan in February.
 
“We know that rapid diagnosis saves lives, and it is great news that more of these centres have been approved to provide checks, scans and tests in the heart of local communities, making services more accessible and convenient and also helping us to improve outcomes for patients with cancer and other serious conditions.”

Cancer, respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease are the largest cause of avoidable death in North Central London and a 15-year gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and least well-off parts of the borough. The new CDC aims to tackle health inequalities in Haringey by providing diagnostic tests on the high street.