A new health centre has opened in a popular Birmingham shopping complex, aiming to provide residents with easier access to diagnostic services closer to home.
South Birmingham Community Diagnostic Centre
The South Birmingham Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), located at the Maypole Retail Park, is now fully operational. It is equipped with advanced imaging and diagnostic technology, offering NHS appointments for a range of tests including CT, MRI, ultrasound, X-ray, and respiratory assessments.
The centre is open daily from 8am to 8pm. The service is delivered through a partnership between NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, and InHealth.
Approximately 37,000 patients per year are expected to benefit from the diagnostic appointments available at the CDC.
Statements from Health Leaders
Danielle Oum, chair of NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board and NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board cluster, said: “The opening of South Birmingham Community Diagnostic Centre is an important step in giving patients more convenient access to the care they need closer to home.
“Diagnostics are a vital part of elective recovery. Many patients need a scan or test before they can receive a diagnosis or begin treatment, and we know that waiting for tests and results can be an anxious time for patients and their families.
“Increasing diagnostic capacity is therefore key to reducing waits, supporting earlier diagnosis, easing patient worries and reducing pressure on our hospitals.
“CDCs also support the direction set out in the national 10-Year Health Plan, shifting services from hospitals to communities, creating health services in our neighbourhoods, and increasing prevention of illness through earlier diagnosis.
“That is particularly important in south Birmingham, where we have some of the highest levels of deprivation in our city and where some people face additional barriers to accessing healthcare.
“By providing more tests in community settings, we can help reduce some of those barriers, give patients faster answers, and support better outcomes for our local populations.”
Iain Pickles, Chief Operating Officer at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, added: “We are pleased to be working with our partners to increase access to diagnostic services for patients in south Birmingham and the wider Birmingham area.
“South Birmingham CDC provides a modern, purpose-built environment for planned diagnostic tests away from our main hospital sites. This supports patients to access care more conveniently, while helping hospital teams manage demand and focus acute capacity where it is most needed.
“The centre will play an increasingly important role in supporting earlier diagnosis and the wider recovery of planned care.”
