First of three new NHS community diagnostic centres for north west London opens
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust opened the new Willesden Community Diagnostic Centre on 19 June as part of a national NHS initiative to create additional diagnostic capacity for planned care in community locations, separated from urgent and emergency services.
The Willesden facility is the first of three new community diagnostic centres in north west London which are particularly focused on helping combat health inequalities, by locating them in areas where there is most need. They provide a convenient location in the community for checks, scans and tests, with the aim of improving outcomes, especially for patients with cancer and other serious conditions, where early detection is key. The Willesden Centre will offer blood tests, x-ray and ultrasound imaging as well as lung and heart function tests.
The three new community diagnostic centres are being developed with national investment of £47.2m. They are all on existing NHS sites, close to significant clusters of deprivation and, together, will provide an additional 300,000 diagnostic tests per year.
The Willesden Community Diagnostic Centre will be joined by:
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Wembley Community Diagnostic Centre -– Imperial College Healthcare’s second centre, due to open by December 2023, within the Wembley Centre for Heath and Care. It will provide a complementary range of diagnostic tests to the Willesden Centre and they will collectively serve communities primarily in Neasden, Stonebridge, Harlesden, North Hammersmith and Fulham, North Kensington, Queen’s Park and Church Street in North Westminster.
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Ealing Community Diagnostic Centre -– run by London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust and based on their Ealing Hospital site. Larger than the other two centres, it will provide the same range of diagnostic tests as the two smaller centres combined and serve communities primarily in Hanwell, Southall and Greenford. It will have a phased opening, between December 2023 and April 2024.
Dr Amrish Mehta, consultant radiologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and divisional director of women’s, cardiac, clinical support and sexual health services, said: “This is a great development. The centres will enable us to offer more appointments for a range of diagnostic checks, scans and tests.
“The location of the centres have been carefully selected to help us tackle health inequalities and improve access. We want communities to get the care they need closer to home and to speed up diagnosis for a range of conditions - including cancer and heart and lung disease - so that patients can get their treatment faster.”
For further information about the services and referral criteria download this GP factsheet.
