6 million tests, checks and scans carried out at community diagnostic centres

MORE than 6 million tests, scans and health checks have taken place at community diagnostic centres (CDCs) across the country, helping speed up diagnoses and treatments for NHS patients.

A total of 6.1 million checks were carried out at CDCs as of November 2023, since they were first introduced in July 2021.

Based in a variety of settings including:- shopping centres, university campuses and football stadiums, 141 of the diagnostic centres, including four temporary sites, are already open; including:- 40 brought forward earlier than planned. They offer patients a wide range of diagnostic tests closer to home and greater choice on where and how they are treated, reducing the need for Hospital visits and helping them to receive potentially life-saving care sooner.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Victoria Atkins, said:- "The Government's £2.3 billion Community Diagnostic Centre programme is the largest investment in MRI and CT scanning capacity in the history of the NHS. Placing high tech equipment in places like shopping centres and near football stadiums makes it simpler for patients to get the care they need, as quickly as possible. We have now opened 141 community diagnostic centres across England, with more to come, and they are playing a vital role in faster diagnosis of illnesses like cancer and heart disease."

Patients are referred to CDCs via their GP. Healthcare staff use CT scanners, MRI scanners and other new diagnostic equipment to diagnose a range of health conditions. Early diagnosis and treatment are key in preventing death and illness.

The programme, backed by £2.3 billion, constitutes the largest central cash investment in MRI and CT scanning capacity in the history of the NHS and we are on track to meet our target to open 160 CDCs by March 2025, with many due to open ahead of schedule.

Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS Medical Director for Transformation, said:- "Thanks to the hard work of staff, latest data shows the NHS has delivered a record 25.9 million tests and checks over the past year; 2 million more than the previous 12 months, and almost 50% more than a decade ago; helping ensure patients get the all clear or diagnosis, so they can be treated for a range of conditions as quickly as possible. Millions of these tests have been performed at one of our 141 '1 stop shops' open across the country, situated in locations most convenient for patients, so I would encourage anyone with a health concern to come forward and get checked – it could save your life."

As a result of the success of the CDC programme and the wider measures outlined in the Elective Recovery Plan, the Government met its target to virtually eliminate waits of over two years and has cut 18-month waits by over 90% from the peak in September 2021.

In November, the Government also provided £800 million; a combination of reprioritised and new funding; to mitigate the impact of industrial action.

It is also maximising independent sector capacity reduce waiting times for NHS patients. A number of the CDCs are run by the independent sector, but available to NHS patients as part of the programme.

The full list of open CDCs can be found below:-

South East Amersham CDC Andover CDC Bexhill CDC Bognor Regis WMH CDC Bracknell CDC Buckland Community Hospital CDC Caterham Dene CDC Crawley Collaborative CDC Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley CDC Falmer CDC Fareham CDC Heatherwood CDC Hythe CDC Island CDC Lymington New Forest Hospital CDC Medway CDC Milford Community Hospital CDC Oak Park CDC Oxford CDC Portsmouth CDC Queen Victoria Hospital CDC Romsey CDC Royal South Hants CDC Southlands Hospital CDC Swale CDC West Berkshire Community Hospital CDC West Kent CDC Woking Community Hospital CDC	London Barking Community Hospital CDC Eltham Community Hospital CDC Finchley Memorial Hospital CDC Kingston CDC Mile End Hospital CDC North West London Ealing CDC Purley CDC Queen Mary's Hospital Roehampton CDC St George's Hornchurch CDC Wembley CDC Willesden CDC Wood Green CDC East of England Bishop's Stortford CDC Braintree CDC Clacton CDC East Norfolk CDC New QEII Hospital CDC North Bedfordshire CDC Thurrock CDC West Essex CDC Whitehouse Health Centre CDC Wisbech CDC	South West Boscombe AECC CDC Bridgwater CDC BSW BaNES Locality CDC CDC Poole @ Dorset Health Village CIOS Bodmin CDC Devon and Torbay CDC Devon Exeter Nightingale CDC Gloucestershire Quayside CDC North Bristol CDC Plymouth CDC Poole, Beales CDC Somerset East CDC Somerset West CDC South Petherton CDC South Walks CDC Taunton Central CDC West Cornwall CDC West Mendip CDC Weston CDC Weymouth CDC Yeovil CDC * Closes when Somerset East CDC fully patient ready.
North East and Yorkshire Armley Moor Health Centre CDC Askham Bar Community Care Centre CDC Barnsley Glassworks CDC Bishop Auckland CDC Blaydon CDC * Closes when ICP North - Metrocentre opens Bradford District and Craven CDC East Riding Community Hospital CDC Friarage CDC Halifax CDC Hartlepool CDC Huddersfield CDC Lawson Street CDC * Closes when new Tees Valley Hub opens. Leeds CDC Montagu Hospital CDC Penrith CDC * Closes when North Cumbria opens. Redcar CDC Rotherham Diagnostics CDC Scarborough Gateway CDC Selby War Memorial CDC Wakefield CDC	Midlands Cannock Chase CDC Corbett CDC Corby CDC Coventry City Community CDC Florence Nightingale Community Hospital CDC Grantham CDC Guest CDC Hereford City CDC Hinckley CDC Ilkeston Community Hospital CDC Kidderminster Treatment Centre CDC Kings Heath CDC Leicester CDC Mansfield CDC Merry Hill CDC North Solihull CDC Rugby St Cross CDC Shrewsbury and Telford CDC Sir Robert Peel CDC South Birmingham CDC South Warwickshire CDC Stoke On Trent CDC Walton CDC Warwickshire North CDC Washwood Heath CDC Whitworth Hospital CDC	North West Bolton CDC Burnley General Hospital CDC Clatterbridge Diagnostics CDC Crossland Day Hospital CDC East Cheshire CDC Ellesmere Port CDC Fleetwood CDC Heysham CDC Leigh CDC Liverpool Women's Hospital CDC Manchester & Trafford CDC Northern Care Alliance Oldham CDC Paddington CDC Preston Healthport CDC Rossendale CDC Salford CDC Shopping City CDC South East Manchester Southport CDC St Helens CDC Victoria Infirmary Northwich CDC Warrington & Halton CDC Westmorland CDC Whitegate Drive CDC

Pontins Holiday Park Southport site shut after 'viability' assessment

SOUTHPORT Pontins Holiday Park has been closed by Britannia Hotels, with immediate effect. This permanent closure comes following Storm Henk, which had reportedly flooded the site making it:- "unviable."

Britannia isn't known for its open approach, but we have attempted to contact Britannia Hotels for additional comment and further information.

Pontins on its website has said:- "It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of Pontins Southport Holiday Park. After assessing the future viability of the park, we have come to the difficult decision to close our doors. Unfortunately, this means that Pontins Southport Holiday Park will be closed from:- Wednesday, 3 January 2024. We apologize for any inconvenience caused."

Local Member of Parliament for Southport, Damien Moore, confirmed the permanent closure of Pontins Southport; a subsidiary of Britannia Hotels Limited. This decision has been made due to the failure of the site to pass an internal commercial viability assessment. The assessment found that the site suffered flood damage caused by Storm Henk, making the site commercially unviable. This marks the third closure of a Pontin's facility since September 2023. The other two sites that were closed are located in Prestatyn and Camber Sands. As a result, Pontin's commercial footprint has been reduced from 30 to only 3 sites. The closure of Pontin's Southport represents a renewed opportunity for investment and redevelopment across Ainsdale, including the provision of high quality tourist accommodation, upgrading road and pedestrian infrastructure, and coastal biodiversity protection, benefitting our wider Ainsdale community.

In 2023 the owners of Pontins Group, out of the blue, said it was closing its:- Prestatyn and Camber Sands locations with:- "immediate effect" putting staff at other locations at risk.

Owners Britannia have been criticized for their failure to invest in its sites including the site in Ainsdale over the last few years. Online, this location has also struggled with its identity, being tagged often as having:- "very little activities for kids everything was closed," and also "needing urgent renovation" amongst other criticisms. This was also often reflected in online reviews on sites like Tripadvisor that gave the location a rating of:- 2 of 5 in 2023...

Also, Pontins, Southport (Ainsdale), has had several major PR issues over 2023, with the repeated speculation that the site was under consideration to house migrants by the Home Office, that was met with several denials.

The local Member of Parliament for Southport added:- "Whilst the closure of Pontins is concerning for the staff who I’m sure will be shocked, it provides a fantastic opportunity for a high quality holiday accommodation provider to take over the site. Given its excellent location next to Ainsdale beach, and with suitable investment, it could offer a substantial economic boost to Ainsdale and the wider Southport area."

The worry is that this is a prime site near the coastline, along with its strategic location between:- Liverpool and Southport, so we might lose what is an important tourism business opportunity to housing. But, stopping this might be the fact that this area could become at risk from flooding, due to climate change. Plus any housing developments on the site would also be risk Sefton Coast Special Area of Conservation.

Sefton Council, which we are told is the landowner of the Southport site, has repeatedly said they had not been informed about the closure.

The unexpected announcement has shocked the local area and will be yet another major blow to the area's job market.

Commenting, the local Member of Parliament Damien Moore added:- “Whilst the closure of Pontins is concerning for the staff who I’m sure will be shocked, it provides a fantastic opportunity for a high quality holiday accommodation provider to take over the site."

Please do let us know if you have been affected by the sudden closure and also if you have any thoughts on the closure. Please email our Newsroom at:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com or send us a message on:- Mastodon, Facebook, or Twitter.

If you are unaware of the site's location, the site is located on Shore Road Ainsdale Beach, Southport, Merseyside, PR82PZ, England.