Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many community diagnostic hubs per million people they plan to create; and what steps are they taking to ensure that respiratory diagnostic tests will be a core part of their function.

Following the announcement of £2.3 billion of capital investment in diagnostic services in the recent Spending Review, the National Health Service plans to establish at least 100 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) over the next three years, or approximately 1.8 per million people. This is based on the recommendations of Professor Sir Mike Richards’ review, which recommended establishing 165 CDCs or three per million people in England.

The core specification for CDCs includes a range of respiratory diagnostics, including lung function testing. In addition, local integrated care systems will be able to supplement these with additional services for respiratory patients according to local needs.