Patients across the region will benefit from earlier tests closer to home as plans to open Community Diagnostic Centres in key areas progress to meet population and demographic needs.
The centres will be situated in locations across the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership region, which covers Hull, the East Riding, North and North East Lincolnshire, and York and North Yorkshire.
The facilities will be dedicated to faster, easier and more direct access to tests associated with conditions such as cancer, breathlessness and ophthalmology, as well as offering blood tests and scans, resulting in reduced waiting times and less pressure on acute NHS services.
Shared Agenda is providing the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership with programme management and business case support to gather and analyse data to establish where the centres need to be situated to meet local population needs.
Options could potentially range from smaller enhancements at GP practice level to increase capacity, to larger scale diagnostic centres co-locating services in a dedicated space.
Centres are being rolled out across England after Professor Sir Mike Richards’ independent report recommended the need for a new NHS diagnostics model and additional facilities to be created in locations away from main hospital sites.
Shared Agenda Chief Executive Tim Wigglesworth said: “Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership needs a co-ordinated approach for each of its areas whilst recognising that the individual solutions will be different to meet the needs of each local communities. As part of our work, we’re looking at both a programme wide and individual project business cases to create facilities which meet existing demand and help plan for the future.
“We’re collaborating with NHS colleagues and health care planners to understand the current picture and map future provision, identifying the best locations, how big they need to be and what services are required.
“We’re currently undertaking site searches to establish whether existing buildings can be transformed to accommodate these services, or whether alternative premises are required.”
The programme will be delivered over the next five years and the business cases for the first projects to be delivered are expected to be submitted by June.
Chris O’Neill, Director at Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, said: “Shared Agenda already has excellent existing relationships with providers and commissioners at all levels across the health and care landscape, which means they’re ideally placed to help us achieve this transformation.
“They are supporting us in defining and developing plans to establish the best local and regional solutions in line with the national programme objectives and ultimately improving health outcomes for patients now and in the future.”
