Tens of thousands of patients across England can now access vital diagnostic tests and scans out of hours and in their community, with 100 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) opening in the evenings and on weekends.
The latest NHS England data shows that the NHS delivered over 1.6 million more tests and scans from July 2024 to June 2025 compared to the same time the previous year. For cancer, the NHS hit the Faster Diagnosis Standard with 76.8% - or 218,463 people - having cancer ruled out or diagnosed within 28 days, the highest June since the standard was introduced. Improved performance on the Faster Diagnosis Standard means that nearly 100,000 (97,000) more people have had cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days between July 2024 and June 2025, compared to the same period last year.
Extending opening hours for CDCs is opening up access and speeding up diagnosis for patients all around the country. For example, Oldham CDC has slashed lung cancer diagnosis times from 42 days to just 18.8 days, meeting the Faster Diagnosis Standard for the first time. Queen Victoria Hospital CDC in East Grinstead now delivers five times more respiratory patient interactions per session, with 92% avoiding hospital outpatient appointments entirely. These centres are helping to speed up care, making it easier for patients nationwide.
Community diagnostic centres are a pivotal part of the government’s Plan for Change to transform care, moving it out of hospital and into the community. By speeding up diagnosis and treatment, government is reducing pressure on overwhelmed hospitals and putting patients at ease faster.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said: "This government is determined to offer healthcare that fits around working people’s lives and not the other way around. From early morning MRI scans to late evening blood tests, we’re meeting patients where they need it most by extending the operating hours for community diagnostic centres and putting patients first."
Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS England National Medical Director, said: "We know people are living incredibly busy lives and it’s vital NHS care reflects that. The services provided by community diagnostic centres enable people to receive the all-clear or a diagnosis at a time and location that suits them - whether before a school drop-off or after a work shift - and extending their opening hours means more people are being seen more quickly."
The NHS is also making it easier for GPs to refer directly to CDCs via schemes like GP Direct Access, and developing more activity involving CDCs, so patients can have their diagnostic test ahead of meeting their consultant, reducing the number of outpatient appointments they need to attend.
