Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to decrease the number of patients waiting more than six weeks for diagnostic tests at Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin integrated care board.

NHS England’s ‘Delivery Plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ aims for 95% of patients needing a diagnostic test to receive it within six weeks by March 2025. £2.3 billion was awarded at Spending Review 2021 to transform diagnostic services over the next three years. Most of this will deliver additional, digitally connected diagnostic capacity and decrease the number of patients waiting more than six weeks for diagnostic tests. This funding will also increase the number of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) up to 160 by March 2025.

To help deliver additional diagnostic capacity in the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board area, the Government has approved a CDC in Telford, which is planned to be open in October 2023. Once operational, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin CDC will benefit patients with more convenient access to diagnostic checks, tests and scans, closer to their home.

Nationally, during May 2023, hardworking National Health Service staff completed nearly 2.2 million diagnostic checks.