The government said the investment will increase testing capacity, cut wait times and improve access to scans across the country.
Patients in England could receive tests and scans more quickly under government plans to expand community diagnostic services.
Ministers said £237m would be used to open or upgrade 36 Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs), with the aim of increasing NHS capacity and improving access to care.
The investment is part of a wider £26bn annual funding package for the health service. The government said the NHS carried out 29 million diagnostic tests in England last year.
However, figures from Nuffield Trust show there’s still a long way to go. By September 2025, more than 1.7 million people were waiting for diagnostic tests – one of the highest totals since records began.
In early 2026, between 22% and 24% of patients were waiting more than six weeks for key tests, exceeding the NHS target that no more than 1% of patients should wait that long.
‘Thanks to this government’s investment and modernisation, the NHS delivered a record number of tests and scans last year. But there’s still a long way to go before we’ve catching disease on time,’ Health Secretary Wes Streeting said.
‘I was one of the lucky ones – my kidney cancer was caught early, and today I’m living cancer-free. But it shouldn’t be a question of luck. The NHS should be there for all of us when we need it, catching illness earlier so we can treat it faster.
‘As part of the record investment we are making in the NHS’s recovery, these new CDCs part of the biggest expansion in NHS diagnostics in a generation – continuing the progress we’re making and helping save lives.’
Nearly 30 million tests were carried out in 2025, with 3.5 million more conducted in the first 18 months of the current government compared with the previous administration.
Four new centres are due to open in Gorton, Luton, Boston and Bideford between 2026 and 2027. A further 32 sites will be expanded or upgraded.
Professor Stella Vig from NHS England added: ‘We’re making it easier to access care, and our network of Community Diagnostic Centres deliver important diagnostic tests nearer to people’s homes, with new, expanded or enhanced centres available to patients across England.’
‘This expansion means even more patients can have vital checks like MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds in a convenient location at a time that suits them, supporting the NHS’s drive to bring down waiting times even further.’
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