Four new medical centres will 'ease hospital load'

James Currell from the trust said the Community Diagnostic Centre in Thurrock was expected to take on 75,000 appointments from hospitals

A health trust has opened the first of four new community diagnostics centres (CDCs) to help speed up testing and free up capacity for hospitals.

Thurrock CDC was launched in Grays last week, and it is set to deliver more than 75,000 additional appointments each year.

The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT) said all the CDCs, which provide diagnostic tests, scans, and health checks, were set to be up and running by the end of 2026.

MSEFT's divisional director for clinical and support services, James Currell, said as well as freeing up capacity, the facilities would be open "seven days a week and up to 12 hours a day" to help workers fit in appointments.

He said: "It means that we can release capacity in the main hospitals to support inpatient pathways, but, more importantly, some of those who are on cancer pathways, where we need to be able to do the test in a much quicker time frame.

"They'll also be open seven days a week and up to 12 hours a day, which helps patients in terms of accessing healthcare.

"Maybe if they're working-age parents who can't get out to have their tests done during the working day, they can go in the evening or at the weekend."

He said the trust worked closely with the NHS commissioners and the local authorities to identify areas of "deprivation or poorer access to health".

Buildings in the NHS estate were looked at to see if they could be repurposed, rather than building new sites to keep "the costs down".

The other three CDCs coming soon include Southend-on-Sea at the Victoria Plaza shopping centre, which should be open before the end of the year.

Then, in 2026, Braintree is expected to get a CDC in the spring. By the end of the year, another one is expected near Pitsea Market.

He said: "[Pitsea is] going to be one of the largest in the country and will provide endoscopy services as well as x-ray, CT, MRI, blood tests and then cardiology and respiratory tests as well."

Mr Currell presented this information at a public event at Southend University Hospital on Tuesday.

Peter Churchill was walking around the information stalls on Tuesday

Peter Churchill, 69, who was at the event, said he was impressed with the new medical centre plans.

"They've got all the photos of what they're doing and what the plans are. So real transparency and openness has been brilliant.