Following an independent review of diagnostic services in October 2020, the NHS committed to increasing capacity to make sure residents have quick access to checks, scans and tests.

As we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, waiting lists continue to grow across our boroughs, and NHS partners across north east London (NEL) have asked residents for their views on proposals to increase the number of diagnostic appointments.

One proposal is to build a dedicated Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at Barking Community Hospital (BCH) for a range of diagnostics such as CT and MRI scans, ultrasounds and blood tests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The proposed CDC would provide more tests and scans for NEL residents and would also mean those living in Barking and Dagenham can access these services on their doorstep.

In the last 12 months, Barking has been boosted by more mobile CT and MRI scanners, ultrasound facilities and X-ray machines, which has been vital in helping us reduce waiting lists and treat residents faster.

As part of the consultation, we also engaged with residents and stakeholders to help us understand what is important to them when accessing these services to improve their experience.  Read our report to find out what people told us, from how we can make the environment relaxing to preferred appointment times.

We also engaged with residents who live closest to Barking Community Hospital, to find out their thoughts on the proposed design of the CDC.

We captured their feedback by running a survey and holding public and virtual drop-in sessions. Read the findings of this work in our second engagement report.

If you were unable to join our drop-in sessions and would like to find out why CDCs are needed across our boroughs and what our plans include at Barking Community Hospital, watch our recorded meeting for more details:

Next steps

We have submitted our planning application to Barking and Dagenham Council for the proposed diagnostic centre and we will share an update once a decision has been made.

In the meantime, please send an email if you have any queries about CDCs.