The Bristol North West MP, who is also chief secretary to the Treasury, was shown around the Cribbs Causeway centre by North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) joint chief executive Maria Kane and joint chair Ingrid Barker, alongside Geoff Searle, chief executive from InHealth, which runs the site. 

Kane, said: ‘We know that providing services in the community, closer to people's homes and where they work, helps them access health services and we are proud of the positive impact this centre has already had on our patients. 

‘We have made fantastic strides in reducing waiting times for diagnostic tests and treatment, but know there are still some people waiting longer than we would like for treatment and welcome plans to help people access care faster.' 

The visit came in the week that Prime Minister Keir Starmer outlined plans to tackle NHS waiting times through the Elective Reform Plan which includes NHS measures to improve access to planned care is increased capacity through CDCs and more surgical hubs, such as the Bristol Surgical Centre currently being built at Southmead Hospital. 

The North Bristol CDC fully opened in November after initially starting out in mobile units in April 2024. People can be referred directly for a range of diagnostic tests, including CT, MRI, endoscopy, and respiratory tests by GPs at some local practices or via NBT and UHBW.

Since opening in April 2024, 28,000 people have attended for diagnostic tests, which in turn means people can start treatment sooner. 

Opening the centre has helped NBT reduce the number of patients waiting longer than six weeks for diagnostic tests to below the national standard of 5% or lower. 

There is also a CDC in Weston, run in partnership with UHBW as well as centres at Torbay, Yeovil and Redruth, as part of a broader partnership with InHealth to deliver five CDCs in the South West.