People in the Grantham area could soon be able to get tests and scans at a ‘pop up’ venue.
Grantham is one of 40 areas which will get an NHS Diagnostic Hub between now and March next year which will serve as one-stop shop in a big to fight the mounting backlog since the Covid-19 pandemic began, according to the Daily Mirror.
It is aimed a tackling the Covid backlog in the NHS.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “Tackling waiting lists will require new and more innovative ways of delivering the services people need. That is why we’re making it easier and more convenient to get checked.
“Our new Community Diagnostic Centres will bring those crucial tests closer to home including in the communities that need them most. They will help enable earlier diagnosis, allowing us to catch cancer and other issues as quickly as possible, and save more lives.”
Hubs will be staffed by teams of professionals including nurses and radiographers and will be open seven days a week.
It is also hoped they will help doctors make earlier diagnoses for patients through more direct access to a full range of diagnostic tests, reduce hospital visits and therefore the risk of Covid transmission, cut down waiting times, and help meet emissions targets by providing multiple tests at one visit and reducing the number of journeys patients have to make.
The centres are one of the recommendations from Professor Sir Mike Richards, the first NHS national cancer director, who conducted a review of diagnostic services as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, published last year.
He said: “The pandemic brought into sharper focus the need to overhaul the way we deliver diagnostic services and so I am absolutely delighted to see one of the key recommendations of my report becoming a reality for patients so quickly.
“I have no doubt that many people will benefit from these new NHS Community Diagnostic Centres, bringing together many tests in one convenient place.”
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