East Somerset CDC at Higher Kingston, Yeovil (BA21 4AT) will be opening in our constituency to increase diagnostic capacity and reduce waiting times, with state-of-the-art equipment to deliver CT, MRI, ultrasound, X-ray, echocardiography, cardiology, respiratory, pathology and endoscopy tests and scans. Once fully operational, the CDC will have capacity to deliver up to 56,459 checks, tests and scans a year. This CDC will be fully opening in 2024.
While it is being constructed, additional diagnostic testing capacity is already being provided through mobile facilities at South Petherton Community Hospital, South Petherton, TA13 5EF.
114 new CDCs are currently operational across the country and have delivered over 4.6 million checks, tests and scans since July 2021, as part of the biggest recovery programme in history. Some of these CDCs may already serve your area. A full list will be published in due course.
Over the next couple of years, the government plans to invest £2.3 billion, taking the total number up to 160 CDCs, to help tackle the COVID-19 backlog. These will deliver a projected 17 million additional checks by March 2025, having added capacity for around 9 million more tests a year. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have developed new, innovative ways of working to tackle the backlog in elective care. We must continue to work together to build a health and social care system for the long term.