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The NHS Long-Term Plan sets out an ambition to transform capacity and responsiveness of clinical services. This transformation is at the heart of new models of care and will require closer integration across patient pathways.
Traditional approaches have been to provide elective diagnostics in acute settings (i.e. hospital-based diagnostics), typically following a pathway from GP referral to hospital consultant, with periods of several weeks between referral to diagnostic tests and additionally further delays between tests and follow up appointments.
In a post pandemic landscape, there is opportunity to redesign safe patient pathways – taking into account the needs of primary care and commissioners, resource limitations of secondary care with advantages gained by improved access and improved productivity, provided in new environments.
The Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal (‘Richards Report’) recommends significant reform and investment in critical diagnostic services, including new service delivery models, equipment and facilities, workforce, digitisation and connectivity, in order to improve capacity, efficiency and reduce diagnostic backlogs.
The Richards Report outlines that NHS England should consider plans to build an out-of-hospital diagnostic centre per 300k of the population - meaning scope for between 100-150 diagnostic hubs.
Community Diagnostic Centres (CDC) are key to transforming current models of care delivery by providing access to “right first time” diagnostics and treatment services, closer to patient's homes.
In order to meet rising demand for diagnostic services, the NHS have outlined their vision to increase diagnostic capacity to drive early disease diagnosis and enable access to the latest medical technologies, efficient workflows and robust informatics tools.
The scope for CDC or Community Diagnostics Hubs (CDH) is broad. Philips vision is that these centres will specialise in providing services that meet cardiovascular, fitness, wellness and health themes across Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Respiratory and Sleep health spaces. With a continuing need to focus on the wider health needs of our population, we also envisage the expansion of CDC with further NHS–commissioned specialist services. The focus would be to support the elderly and patients with underlying health conditions by improving access to expert health services whilst reducing travel. This could encompass general practice, pharmacy and tele-dentistry services.
Innovating in diagnostics with new models of out of hospital care
Partnering with healthcare providers to pioneer Community Diagnostics Centres (CDC) across the UK
Virtualisation of healthcare
Charting the growth of virtual care models, new patient behaviours and the opportunity for out-of-hospital care.
UKIO 2021 Online: Wed, 9 June, 17:30-18:00 BST
Presenters: Stephen McMillan, Head of Solutions CoE Philips UKI & Jeevan Gunaratnam, Community Diagnostic Director, Philips UKI
In order to deliver on the NHS plan and vision, Philips’ premise is that there needs to be a transformation in delivery of diagnostic and treatment services in England, expanding care delivery out of traditional hospital settings into community and specialist settings, as well as using the opportunity granted by affordable and accessible spaces on our high streets.
1. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/incidence/
2. https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/monthly-diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/
3. http://data.oecd.org/healtheqt/magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri-units.htm
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