“It doesn’t feel like you’re in a hospital”: MP visits Wakefield diagnostic centre helping to shift NHS care into the community

Ashley Dalton MP made the comments during a visit to Wakefield Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), based in Westgate Retail Park, on Monday (yesterday).

Ms Dalton said: “It’s so lovely. Because you’re not in an acute setting, it doesn’t feel like you’re in a hospital.”

The centre, which opened in March 2024, is part of a national programme aiming to bring NHS care into the community, and is designed to look and feel different from a hospital.

“It’s light, it’s airy, if you just go outside you’re next door to Pets at Home – it’s far less intimidating than that kind of acute setting.

“What I’ve really noticed is the way everything flows so beautifully, staff have got decent space to work in, and patients have got a really nice environment to be in while they’re waiting for their tests to be done,” Ms Dalton added.

Published in July this year, the government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England put forward its goal of moving healthcare from hospitals into the community.

Ms Dalton said: “By having these facilities in communities, we’re freeing up capacity of the hospitals in an acute setting so they can see more patients as well.”

The building has been designed to be modern and accessible, and provide a calmer environment to a busy hospital.

All patient areas are situated on the ground floor, and a Changing Places Toilet and disabled toilets are available.

There is free parking outside, and the location has been chosen for its centrality to the city centre and ease of access to local public transport.

Because all the services are in the same place, the centre can conduct multiple tests on one patient on the same day.

The centres are designed for outpatients only, and offer a range of scans and tests including CT, MRI, X-ray, DEXA, Ultrasound, Phlebotomy, respiratory, spirometry, ophthalmology, cardiology, and med photography.

The treatment of inpatients and emergencies will remain in hospitals, and the centres are not used for urgent tests or tests with special requirements.

Because the centre offers weekend and extended weekday opening, it is helping to shorten wait times and reduce the need for hospital appointments.

Richard Robinson, Chief Medical Officer of Mid Yorkshire NHS Teaching Trust said the feedback from staff has been positive, and that the Trust would like to see more facilities such as the Wakefield CDC open in the future.

He said: “We treat thousands of patients on a daily, weekly, monthly basis in our hospital sites and within the community, and our team does a fantastic job in the majority of those cases.

“I think what a visit like today really shows is that when given the opportunity we can do things really well, and we often do do things really well, and to be able to celebrate that is really good for the team who work here, the wider Trust, but also for our local population who experience the care that can be delivered here.

“The feedback we get from our patients is fabulous so I think that is really important to then show that we’ve done a really good job in terms of trying to make improvements.”