Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup and local patients in South East London are set to benefit from one of the Government’s new £9.6m Community Diagnostics Centre (CDC).
Once open, the CDC will provide more than 58,000 additional diagnostic tests annually, by expanding phlebotomy (blood tests) and establishing new CT, MRI and X-ray diagnostic services.
The CDC will be delivered across two phases, with expanded phlebotomy services due to start in December 2023 and CT, MRI and X-ray services expected to be operational from early 2025.
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for managing the construction of the CDC and once completed Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust will be the operator, delivering these new diagnostic services for patients in Bexley and across South East London.
The CDC announcement is expected to take considerable pressure of other local hospitals, such as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, which recently received a boost of £10.6m from the Government to help increase bed capacity by approximately 50 beds.
Louie French, MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, said, “After two years of hard work and lobbying for this funding, I am absolutely delighted that we have secured a new community diagnostics hub for patients at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup.
As a lifelong Bexley resident and the local Member of Parliament, I fully recognise the need to improve health services in our area and I would like to thank everyone at Oxleas and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust for their support with this project and the Government for hearing our calls.
My predecessor and friend the late James Brokenshire helped save Queen Mary’s from closure over a decade ago and this investment being announced today will help secure its longer-term future alongside the other excellent health services available in Sidcup.
I look forward to continuing working together with all the NHS partners and the Government to deliver for Queen Mary’s Hospital and local patients.”
Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said, “Patients deserve the highest quality care, and community diagnostic centres have been instrumental in speeding up the diagnosis of illnesses like cancer and heart disease to ensure patients are treated more quickly.
I’m delighted we will open 160 CDCs a year early, allowing greater access to high tech scans and diagnostics in communities across the England.
This has been made possible by using all capacity available to us and drawing on the independent sector – helping us to cut waiting lists, one of the Government’s top five priorities."
