As hospitals face increasing cost and staffing pressures nationwide, the role of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) is becoming integral.
Over 105 out of 165 planned CDCs have been established across the UK and their projected impact is set to transform diagnostic capabilities.1
Driving faster diagnoses, CDCs proactively lay the foundations for clear treatment plans to improve patient outcomes while bolstering capacity. By March 2025, the NHS predicts CDCs to have an annual capacity of 9 million tests and to reduce waiting times for diagnosis to under 6 weeks.2
As the conversation turns to how CDCs can optimise both their operations and the delivery of patient care into the future, we explore some of the key challenges and opportunities with Shalten Tambula, Interim Head of Departmental Consulting and Andy Wilks, Head of Enterprise Services at Siemens Healthineers Great Britain & Ireland.
Optimising workforce planning in Community Diagnostic Centres
In 2022, the NHS had a 29% shortfall of clinical radiologists, which according to data from The Royal College of Radiologists, is set to rise to 40% by 2027.3
98% of clinical directors are concerned about the impact of workforce shortages on backlogs and delays, and 90% are concerned that workforce shortages will impact patient safety.4
To harness the potential of CDCs in this context, optimising workforce planning to create an agile, resourced workforce is essential. This can mean refreshing staffing systems to accommodate the requirements of a CDC, or creating new staffing systems that are fully customised.
As part of this, upskilling and digitally equipping the workforce with remote support can help alleviate resourcing pressures. Shalten Tambula explains, “There are innovative ways forward to support diagnostic staff in CDCs. At Siemens Healthineers, we work collaboratively with our partners in healthcare to upskill staff, as well as provide consultative guidance and innovative technology like remote scanning to streamline pathways.”
Addressing accessibility and health inequalities
Community Diagnostic Centres tie into a crucial NHS ambition – to contribute to reducing health inequalities by ensuring everyone has the same access to care to improve health outcomes.
While the reasons for missed appointments vary considerably between individuals, patients from low-socio economic backgrounds are more likely to miss appointments.5 The cost-of-living crisis lends a further lens to the situation – research from HealthWatch England demonstrates that out of 2,000 respondents, 1 in 10 had avoided an NHS appointment due to the cost of travel.6
Andy Wilks comments, “For communities where patients can’t afford to access hospitals, CDCs can play an important role in addressing health inequalities by bridging routes to diagnosis while limiting the distance patients have to travel.”
Tailored CDC planning can be instrumental in addressing health inequalities.
Shalten Tambula says, “As I reflect back on some of the work that we’ve accomplished with our partners, location is a key consideration. Using Health Flow Design, we provide consultative analytics to understand population dynamics and map this data to identify which areas and communities would benefit from the CDC’s location. This results in a sustainable location with scope for scalability to meet stakeholder requirements with patient accessibility at the core.”
Designing Community Diagnostic Centres in a way that meets current, and future needs is crucial.
Siemens Healthineers Health Flow Design focuses on creating CDCs tailored to the needs of local populations. From hands-on workshops with patients and staff to simulation modelling, our consultants use a range of methods to ensure that CDCs not only meet immediate requirements but can flexibly scale in the future.
Creating a sustainable equipment-refresh plan
In the 5 years preceding the pandemic, demand for almost all diagnostic procedures increased markedly.
Recommendations from the independent report, Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal provided a total of 24 recommendations aimed at bridging the gap between diagnostic demand and diagnostic capacity – all of which were unanimously supported by the NHS board.7
One of these key recommendations included the expansion and upgrading of diagnostic equipment and facilities as soon as possible.
Value Partnerships offer healthcare organisations a way to address this issue imminently, as well as in the future.
“We’ve seen growing interest from the NHS in our Value Partnerships, including our managed equipment services (MES) and equipment refresh programmes. When you build a CDC, or invest in any hospital programme, the allocated capital takes into account initial costs, but does not cover equipment maintenance and replacement as it ages,” Andy Wilks explains. “In anywhere between 7-8 years, equipment can fall behind contemporary standards, but equipment volume and consequent costs can deter re-investment. Value Partnerships offer hospitals and healthcare organisations equipment plans for the future, unlocking access to cutting-edge systems and technology to advance patient care, with simplified financial planning”.
What is a Value Partnership?
Siemens Healthineers Value Partnerships are long-term performance-oriented engagements with healthcare organisations. Our Value Partnerships draw on Siemens Healthineers clinical insight, medical technology innovation, strategic vision and operational excellence to achieve our partners’ strategic goals, advance outcomes and enhance opportunities for patients, staff and the trust.
