Shopping centre NHS base bids to cut waiting lists
BBCNHS bosses in the West Midlands have said a new patient testing centre will help to bring down waiting lists, meaning illnesses can be identified and treated earlier.
The £15m North Solihull Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) was officially opened on Wednesday, but has been offering appointments since last month.
It is thought to be the first site of its kind in the region based at a shopping centre, and is providing X-rays, CT scans and ultrasounds, among other procedures.
Stephen Kinnock, minister of state for care, attended the opening at Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre and said it was "really important to see the shift from hospital to community".
Jo Tolley, from the NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB), said the facility would benefit Solihull residents, who lived in "the top 10% of the most deprived areas in the country".
"Men [in Solihull] have a 12-year shorter life expectancy than average and women a 11.1-year, so putting this facility in their locality enables them to access the services closer to their home," she said.
Tim Denton-Hawkes had waited more than six months for an appointment to investigate his back pain and was one of the first people to benefit from the tests at the centre.
He said the facility was a "grand idea" and something the health service "should have done some years ago".
Margaret Storer also received tests on the opening day and said the facility was "very useful" for older people, like herself.
"You haven't got to get on a lot of buses, it's just local which is what we needed," she said.
The facility is one of 160 CDCs being rolled out across the country, 30 of which are in the Midlands.
A spokesperson for the ICB said the centres had "played a vital role in helping to identify and treat illnesses quicker", in addition to "further helping reduce pressure on hospitals and enabling speedier diagnosis so patients receive potentially life-saving care sooner".
Patients from North Solihull and the greater Birmingham area are being offered an appointment at the new facility after they have been referred by a clinician - typically a GP or hospital consultant.
More than 65,000 diagnostic tests are expected to take place at the centre every year.
Solihull resident Emma McAdorey said she had previously "waited months for an appointment", but the new centre had changed that.
"Now, we went to our GP and two weeks later we've got an appointment at the new Chelmsley centre, the waiting times have been cut down a lot." she said.
The facility is open seven days a week from 08:00 until 20:00.
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