• More than 1.7 million tests, checks and scans have already been delivered by the 92 existing community diagnostic centres
• GP referrals to community diagnostic centres speed up diagnosis times by offering tests closer to home, eliminating unnecessary hospital trips

Seven new community diagnostic centres (CDCs) will open to help bust the COVID backlogs, diagnose patients more quickly and meet future demands on the NHS, the Health and Social Care Secretary has today (1 September 2022) confirmed.

The one-stop shops offer a range of diagnostic checks, scans and tests closer to home. Following a GP referral, patients can get their symptoms checked and receive a potentially life-saving diagnosis for a range of conditions such as cancer, heart and lung disease more quickly. The new facilities will also relieve pressure on NHS staff ahead of a potentially challenging winter.

So far, 92 have already opened in a variety of settings from football stadiums to shopping centres – carrying out over 1.7 million tests. This forms part of the government’s ambition to roll out 160 community diagnostic centres across the country by 2025 to deliver 9 million tests, checks and scans a year, with the programme backed by £2.3 billion of diagnostics investment.

CDCs reduce the number of hospital visits and reduce waiting times for patients by diverting people away from hospitals – so hospitals can focus on treating urgent patients while the diagnostic centres focus on tackling the backlog for tests and checks. They are more convenient for patients and more efficient, with patients less likely to have their tests cancelled.

The new CDCs will be rolled out in:

• Eltham in south east London
• Lancashire
• Leigh in Greater Manchester
• St Albans
• Willesden and Wembley in north west London

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

Since taking on the role of Health and Social Care Secretary, I have been focused on clearing the COVID backlog and waiting times. Community diagnostic centres are a vital part of our plan to transform the way we deliver tests, scans and x-rays and ultimately reduce waiting times for patients.

Along with speeding up diagnosis times, they will also help tackle health disparities – ensuring that people get treated as quickly as possible no matter where they live, with new centres opening from Essex to Manchester.

NHS national director of elective recovery, Sir James Mackey, said:

These 7 ‘one-stop shops’ are the next step in our elective recovery plan and a welcome addition to the 92 existing community diagnostic centres, which have already delivered more than 1.7 million tests and checks in just over a year.

Our elective recovery plan set out how the NHS will deliver 9 million more tests and checks a year by 2025 and the work of these diagnostic centres, some in convenient spots including shopping centres, are excellent examples of the innovative work being done across the health service to ensure patients get the tests and checks they need as quickly as possible.

GPs refer patients to CDCs where staff use CT scanners, MRI scanners, and other new diagnostic equipment to diagnose people as quickly as possible.

More than 1.7 million tests, checks and scans have already been delivered in the following regions across the country:

• 173,000 in East of England
• 222,000 in London
• 303,000 in the Midlands
• 173,000 in North East Yorkshire
• 260,000 in the North West
• 329,000 in the South East
• 245,000 in the South West

The Finchley Memorial Hospital CDC opened in north London in August 2021 and now offers patients 2 MRI scanners along with 2 obstetric ultrasound machines. Staff carry out a range of scans, blood tests and other cardiology and respiratory services – with more than 50,000 tests so far delivered.

In Dorset, a CDC was constructed on the top floor of Beales department store in Poole to tackle waiting lists in the region, with the first patients walking through its doors in December. The space was once used to sell furniture, and now boasts an eye testing centre, a breast screening unit and 16 clinical rooms that can be adapted for different needs.

In Barnsley, a CDC has been constructed in the Glass Works shopping centre as part of the town’s urban regeneration project. Thanks to its public transport links, patients from more disadvantaged areas have improved access to diagnostic services – including breast screening.

As part of the selection process, the government worked closely with the NHS and invited bids from various regions. Analysis was carried out to determine where they would be most beneficial in reducing waiting lists and tackling health inequalities.

A range of measures have been adopted to bring down waiting lists and address the lasting impact of the pandemic. Last week, the Health and Social Care Secretary announced that over 50 new surgical hubs will be opening to offer hundreds of thousands more patients quicker access to procedures.

Backed by £1.5 billion in government funding, they will provide at least 100 more operating theatres and over 1,000 beds – delivering almost 2 million extra routine operations over the next 3 years.

These innovative ways of working will help the NHS carry out the biggest catch-up programme in its history and offer patients the care they need, when they need it.

New CDC locations and opening dates

List of operational CDCs

Thank you very much Captain Bing.

Deputy Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, it is fantastic to be here in Barrow, which is the crucible of British marine engineering, of course, and the historic vast maternity ward of these steel leviathans.

And when you look at HMS Anson ladies and gentlemen you are looking at the climax of eleven years of high precision effort by 10,500, brilliant shipwrights, and sonar experts, and weapons engineers – a concentration of talent and expertise that can be mustered by only two or three other countries in the world, at the most.

And on this special day, we give them our thanks.

And you’re looking, by the way, at a vessel that is five times as long as the chamber of the House of Commons and I think you will agree is an international argument considerably more persuasive than some of the things that are deployed in the chamber.

And this is also as the lady sponsor, as the wonderful lady sponsor pointed out this is the home, the place of work, play and rest for one hundred and ten brave submariners at sea, week in week out in the service of our country and to them in anticipation I think we should give our thanks.

When you’re looking at HMS Anson, you are also looking at a vast UK industrial project that represents all that we mean or certainly all that I mean by levelling up, that’s driving jobs and growth and the acquisition of skills up and down the country, sonar built in Somerset torpedoes built in Portsmouth, propulsion system, I think I might even say from Derby, Rolls Royce in Derby.

And you will know that those Rolls Royce reactors were, which are shortly going to be fired up, I think for the first time, they are the basis of the small modular reactor programme that this government has commissioned as part of our strategy to ensure that the people of this country get reliable supplies from the UK of the energy, affordable energy, that we need.

And I’ve just been informed by the by the brilliant people in BAE that these engines run so quietly, that the most important feature of this machine is that for all its enormous bulk.

And by the way, it’s I think it’s smaller than the dreadnought, but it’s still colossal.

All its bulk, you cannot hear it coming.

And I can tell you that I’ve just been out with the Metropolitan Police this morning on a dawn raid.

Coincidentally, in Lewisham, I think maybe South Norwood.

And I can tell you how important, is the element of surprise.

And we arrested a drug dealer, ladies and gentlemen that he was suddenly surprised to see me at the foot of his bed at 530 in the morning, he seemed remarkably pleased actually.

The element of surprise is crucial. And that is why HMS Anson is so vital for our defence, by leave of the Ministry of Defence and my great friends. The Secretary of State for Defence, I can tell you roughly what this boat does, it doesn’t actually carry the nuclear deterrent itself though it does carry as you know, plenty of other lethal stuff, but it does protect our nuclear deterrent.

And therefore today, ladies and gentlemen, what we are looking at is the policemen of the world, gathering intelligence protecting our sea lanes cruising up behind you silently you do not even know it’s there and invisibly helping to create that forcefield around us that is warding off attack on NATO countries for 80 years or getting on for 80 years keeping safe, a billion people around the world.

That is what this machine does.

And that’s why I’m so pleased, by the way, but under the AUKUS agreements with Australia and with the United States, the technology we hope in the submarine will be used to help keep people safe across the whole of the Pacific region as well.

Now, some people will continue to insist that this is a weapon of war.

I tell you that she is a guarantor of peace.

And in this uncertain world, we need that guarantee more than ever.

I congratulate all those who designed her. All those who built her. And I know that in the decades to come, all those who are going to set to sea in her.

And I know that in decades to come, when she’s out at sea, unseen beneath the surface of the water, keeping us safe, we will all remember the day that we were here in Barrow to see HMS Anson commission.

Thank you, God bless this wonderful submarine and all those who sail in her.

• Royal Australian Navy submariners will join UK crews to train on newly commissioned HMS Anson
• Prime Minister and Defence Secretary host new Australian Deputy Prime Minister at Barrow to see commissioning
• Australian visit strengthens international defence ties in light of trilateral AUKUS partnership, working with the US

It came as he and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace emphasised the importance of the deep defence ties between the UK and Australia, following the development of the trilateral AUKUS partnership working with the United States, who were represented today by their Defence Attaché Captain Leland.

Hosting Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles on his first official visit to the UK since the new Australian government came to power, the Prime Minister and Ministers attended the commissioning of the fifth of seven new Astute-Class Royal Navy submarines, HMS Anson.

With naval capability at the centre of the two powers’ future defence relationship, the visit reinforced the priorities of the Integrated Review and significance of the AUKUS partnership – which links the UK, the United States and Australia in promoting stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

The UK and US have already welcomed Royal Australian Navy personnel on its specialised nuclear training courses, and more will follow next year, before Australian submariners go to sea. The training and exchanges mark the beginning of a multigenerational naval partnership between the three AUKUS nations.

The Australia Deputy Prime Minister – who is also Minister for Defence – visited Barrow having yesterday also seen the Type 26 frigate shipbuilding facility in Govan, accompanied by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Ben Key.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said:

HMS Anson is the perfect example of where levelling up the UK and generating jobs, skills and growth across our country goes hand-in-glove with Global Britain.

From the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea, our submarine service is protecting the UK and our allies 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the deployment of Australian submariners alongside our British crews epitomises the strength of the AUKUS partnership.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, said:

Today is a significant milestone in the UK and Australia’s preparation to confront growing threats to the liberal democratic order, especially in the Indo Pacific.

Not only have we progressed our defence planning but Minister Marles participated in the commissioning of our latest attack submarine, on which will Royal Australian Navy submariners will be embarked as we develop our shared capabilities in the years ahead.

Built in a UK shipyard, HMS Anson demonstrates the very best of British industry, sustaining our world-leading sub-surface capabilities and underlining the UK’s readiness to contribute them to shared security, especially with our closest allies Australia and the United States under the AUKUS initiative.

One of the most sophisticated underwater vessels ever built, HMS Anson represents £1.3 billion of UK investment. Capable of defending the UK’s interests at home and overseas, HMS Anson will be armed with up to 38 Spearfish Heavyweight Torpedoes, and Block V Tomahawk land attack missiles, able to tackle targets at a range of up to 1,000 miles.

Building on commitments made in the Integrated Review, the completion of HMS Anson demonstrates the strength of British industry and its world-leading nuclear technology that will be leveraged to deliver the trilateral AUKUS defence and security partnership between the US, UK and Australia.

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key said:

HMS Anson is the cutting edge in submarine design and construction, ensuring operational advantage in the underwater battlespace, the last great stealth domain.

Given the world we live in, there is no more important tool in the United Kingdom’s arsenal: silent, unseen, and a key instrument of our global, modern, ready Royal Navy.

In the last year 17,700 Defence jobs were supported through direct spending with UK industry in the North West. More than 11 years in the making and built in BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness site, more than 10,000 coders, engineers, scientists, submariners and technicians across the UK were involved in HMS Anson’s construction. Powered by a Rolls-Royce nuclear reactor, the boat will be operational for 25 years without refuelling.

At 97 metres long, HMS Anson stands at around the length of two Olympic swimming pools, with 240 kilometres of cabling – enough to stretch from Barrow-In-Furness to its new home in Faslane, Scotland.

HMS Anson will remain in Barrow for the coming weeks while undergoing final checks and rigorous testing to the numerous complex systems that make up a nuclear-powered submarine, before sailing to HM Naval Base Clyde in Faslane to prepare for sea trials.

BAE Systems Chief Executive Charles Woodburn said:

The Astute class submarines are among the finest engineering accomplishments in the world. As the custodian of the UK’s submarine design and build capability, we’re incredibly proud of the role we play in the delivery of this strategic national endeavour.

The UK has built and operated world-class nuclear-powered submarine capability for over 60 years.

HMS Anson will join four other Astute Class submarines in service with the Royal Navy –HMS Astute, HMS Ambush, HMS Artful and HMS Audacious.

Two further boats – Agamemnon and Agincourt – are in various stages of construction at BAE Systems’ Barrow-In-Furness site as part of £11.2 billion overall investment in the whole Astute-Class programme.