The Government’s Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock officially opened the Midlands’ first Community Diagnostic Centre in a retail setting on Wednesday 14th May, aimed at reducing NHS waiting lists and bringing care closer to people’s homes.

Located in Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre, the new £15 million North Solihull Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) will provide residents with access to state-of-the-art diagnostic tests for an array of illnesses as part of work to tackle health inequalities and reduce waiting lists across the NHS.

CDCs are playing a vital role in helping to identify and treat illnesses quicker and closer to home, further helping reduce pressure on hospitals and enabling speedier diagnosis so patients receive potentially life-saving care sooner.

Minister Kinnock will cut the ribbon to officially mark the opening of the brand new facility which provides the latest cutting-edge diagnostic imaging technology for X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound and other health screening including endoscopy.

Expected to annually deliver more than 65,000 tests, the centre is open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm, providing convenient access and free parking for patients referred to the service by their clinician – typically a GP or hospital consultant.

It’s the first centre of its kind in the Midlands to have launched in a shopping centre and is one of the largest CDCs in the country.

Tim Denton-Hawkes, aged 65, of Solihull, is one of the first patients to have been offered an appointment at the Centre. He said: “I’m really relieved to have an appointment for an MRI scan, which is to explore underlying issues to back pain I have endured for many decades after an injury.  To have this new facility so close to home is great news and means I can get some answers to hopefully help tackle the pain I experience on a daily basis.”

Delivered by a collaboration between NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and independent specialist provider of diagnostic solutions InHealth, the centre is part of a national programme led by NHS England to support the continued recovery of care.

Health and Social Care Minister, Stephen Kinnock, said: “I’m delighted to formally open this cutting-edge Community Diagnostic Centre, which will make a real difference to patients across Solihull and Birmingham. Patients deserve faster diagnoses and shorter waiting times closer to home – and that’s exactly why this government is investing in new centres like this one.

“By bringing vital healthcare services directly into Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre, we’re making diagnosis and treatment more accessible for everyone. It’s been wonderful to meet patients and staff and see first-hand how this centre is helping cut waiting times and bringing care closer to home.

“This is exactly the kind of innovative, community-focused healthcare that our Plan for Change is delivering – putting patients first and building an NHS fit for the future.”

David Melbourne, Chief Executive at NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board, said: “The opening of our new Community Diagnostic Centre – the first of its kind in a shopping centre in the Midlands and at the heart of the community – marks a major step forward in bringing healthcare closer to where people live and work.

“By making essential tests and scans more accessible, we’re putting our patients first and not only easing the pressure on our busy hospitals but also helping patients to get the diagnosis and treatment that they need more quickly.”

Mr Martin Richardson, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust’s Hospital Executive Director at Solihull Hospital and Senior Responsible Officer for Diagnostics and Cancer for NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System, said: “This new centre will improve access to important scans and diagnostic tests for local patients in a purpose-built environment away from a main hospital setting.

“This will facilitate rapid GP direct access as well as providing non-urgent hospital diagnostics closer to communities. In addition, through offering a range of diagnostic tests and screenings, it will help to support early disease detection and prevention, ultimately improving future health outcomes for those in North Solihull and the wider Solihull and Birmingham area.”

Geoff Searle, InHealth’s Chief Executive, said: “We’re incredibly pleased to have worked with our NHS partners in the Midlands to create this new centre, which signifies another step forward in providing additional capacity, improving health outcomes and increasing the range, scale and accessibility of services for the local population.

“InHealth has been working in partnership with the NHS for more than 30 years, including nine Community Diagnostic Centres that have been developed in partnership with NHS England since 2021, so we’re delighted to be expanding this model across the country.”

North Solihull CDC is the second CDC to have fully opened in Birmingham and Solihull following the opening of a CDC at Washwood Health Heath Health & Wellbeing Centre in east Birmingham in June 2023.

Dr Jess Sokolov, Regional Medical Director of NHS England in the Midlands, said: “Providing more convenient access to diagnostic testing is a key part of the national Elective Reform Plan, and we have already seen how much people in the Midlands benefit from direct referral from their local doctor to an expanded range of scans and tests on their doorstep.

“This centre will play a vital role in local health and care service, giving patients access to tests closer to home and saving them a hospital trip.”