New NHS and independent diagnostic centres welcome but unintended consequences must be considered

Responding to the government announcement of thirteen new community diagnostic centres (CDCs), eight of which will be run by the independent sector, Nuffield Trust Director of Strategy Helen Buckingham said:

“There is no doubt that collaboration between the NHS and the independent health sector remains necessary if we hope to see the record number of patients waiting for treatment begin to come down soon. Any boost in the number of tests and scans that can be carried out either by the NHS or the independent sector and reduce the time that patients need to wait is welcome. But while a significant chunk of patients on the waiting list will be in the queue for tests, many will rejoin the waiting list to start treatment later, so increasing diagnostics is only one part of the equation. 

“Additional community diagnostic centres will need to be appropriately staffed and both NHS and independent centres will find it challenging to do this quickly and in a way that doesn’t stretch the workforce further in other areas of health and care.

“Longer-term and unintended consequences must also be considered. This scheme will need to be carefully designed to make sure that the NHS is not simply left with the most complex cases without the right staff or capacity to deal with them. The payments for independent providers will also need to be carefully thought out. History tells us that when the government looks to “off balance sheet” solutions to the NHS’s dire need for investment in equipment and physical infrastructure while keeping within capital spending limits, this puts more pressure on the revenue budget which is intended for current expenditure on costs such as staffing, drugs and fuel.

“Waiting times for tests, scans and results were growing before the backlogs caused by the pandemic, fuelled by growing demand, lack of investment in new equipment and shortages of trained specialists. While more independent sector involvement will help boost capacity quicker, it does not fix the root of the issue or provide the NHS with the resources it needs to meet the demand on it for the longer term.”