Experts from health think tank, The King’s Fund, are warning the Government that plans for a 160- strong network of community diagnostic hubs are set to fail in their aim of addressing the growing NHS waiting list backlog. There are currently more than 1.5 million people waiting for a key test or scan in England. And the Government hopes its plans to create 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) across the country by 2025 will solve the problem. Ministers have said the aim of these centres, which are based in community settings such as shopping centres and football stadiums, is to speed up diagnostic times by offering tests ‘closer to home’ and by eliminating unnecessary hospital trips. But a briefing on NHS diagnostics from The King’s Fund warns that, although CDCs may increase the physical capacity to deliver services with more facilities, better equipment, and potentially closer to patients’ homes; there may not be enough skilled staff to run both the proposed new centres and existing facilities. And, without a diagnostic workforce strategy, staff shortages and skills gaps may undermine the additional community capacity the centres are aiming to create. The report also states that, while CDCs could help to address access issues to diagnostics by reducing the time and cost associated with travelling to hospitals; of the 92 sites in operation so far, half – 47% – are on existing hospital sites, raising questions over how much impact they will have on reaching the people they need to. Charlotte Wickens, policy advisor at The King’s Fund, and author of the briefing, said: “While the rollout of these new diagnostic centres is very welcome, more effort must be made to deliver on the promise of CDCs being located in more-convenient community- based locations. “And, ultimately, without action from the Government to tackle the workforce crisis, their potential to increase the number of diagnostic tests the NHS delivers, and provide quicker access to all, will be limited.”