Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has talked up the potential of Woking’s soon-to-open Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) to cut NHS waiting times locally.
The CDC, granted planning permission in December, will be one of 160 such centres opened since July 2021 when it opens later this year at Woking Community Hospital.
Sunak’s visit to Woking Community Hospital on Thursday coincided with the NHS’s existing CDCs reaching a milestone of seven million tests ahead of schedule.
The centres are backed by £2.3 billion in government funding – constituting the largest cash investment in MRI and CT scanning capacity in NHS history.
Early diagnosis and treatment are key in preventing death and illness, as well as cutting down NHS waiting times.
Mr Sunak said: “When I became Prime Minister, I made cutting the NHS waiting lists one of my top five priorities. Today’s statistics clearly show we are making headway towards that goal.
“A drop of almost 200,000 in the last five months shows what the NHS can do for patients. Had there been no strike action, an extra 430,000 patients could have been treated. “We still have more work to do, but our plan is working. On top of this, we’re delivering year-on-year improvements in A&E waiting times for the first time in over a decade outside the pandemic, we’ve invested in a further 5,000 hospital beds, and there are record numbers of staff working in the NHS. “This government will continue delivering for patients – cutting waiting lists and making sure they get the care they need when they need it.”
