The Government has announced further investment and expansion of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs), with £237 million funding for four new centres and significant enhancements to 32 more.
The new investment is part of the extra £26 billion a year for the NHS and will significantly boost NHS diagnostic capacity and deliver more care in local communities. The NHS in England carried out a record 29 million diagnostic tests in 2025 thanks to Government modernisation and investment.
Professor Stella Vig, National Clinical Director for Elective Care at NHS England, said: “We’re making it easier to access care, and our network of Community Diagnostic Centres deliver important diagnostic tests nearer to people’s homes, with new, expanded or enhanced centres available to patients across England. This expansion means even more patients can have vital checks in a convenient location at a time that suits them, supporting the NHS’s drive to bring down waiting times even further.
Four new CDCs, all equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, will open in Gorton, Luton, Boston and Bideford during 2026/27.
A further 32 centres will be expanded and improved with new scanning equipment, outpatient clinic space and additional testing facilities. Of these,17 will be physically expanded with new rooms and state-of-the-art scanning and diagnostic equipment - such as MRI, CT and ultrasound scanners - significantly increasing the range and volume of tests each centre can offer. A further 15 will receive targeted enhancements, adding specialist kit, new clinic rooms or additional services such as audiology, ophthalmology and respiratory care to existing facilities. A full list of the CDCs due for expansion and enhancement can be found below.
Together, these upgrades will mean patients can access a greater range of tests at their local centre, reducing the need to travel to hospital. These upgrades will start benefiting patients as early as this year.
Dr Bernie Croal, President of The Royal College of Pathologists, said: “This additional investment is greatly appreciated. Pathology services form an integral component of Community Diagnostic Centres. From monitoring heart disease to checking kidney function or diagnosing diabetes, the centres bring diagnosis and treatment into community settings. These centres are also instrumental in tackling health inequalities, delivering improved access to diagnostic testing, reduced waiting times and earlier diagnosis for patients.
There are currently 170 CDCs in operation across England, with 108 currently open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
Expanded CDCs (17): Bridgwater, Broad Marsh (Nottingham), Exeter, Eltham, Hull and East Riding, Ipswich, Isle of Wight, Leeds Seacroft, Metrocentre, Gateshead, North Bedfordshire, Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent, Tees Valley, Walton Hospital (Chesterfield), Warwickshire North CDC (Nuneaton), Wembley, West Swindon.
Enhanced (15): Andover, Buckland Community Hospital (Dover), Cannock Chase, Clacton, Ely, Florence Nightingale (Derby), Grantham, Milford, Northgate (Great Yarmouth), Paddington (Liverpool), Redcar, Southlands (West Sussex), West Essex, West Kent, Whitworth Hospital CDC (Matlock).