In this edition of our community diagnostic centre news roundup: Responses to Labour’s election win, the latest figures for wait times across England, a new report from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences on community diagnostics, and updates from CDCs around the country.
Responses from the Health Tech sector to Labour’s Election win
Following Labour’s win of the 2024 general election, Digital Health called on leaders across the health tech space for their reaction and their suggested priorities for health minister Wes Streeting.
“It is good to see that the Labour Party are seeking to utilise existing technology, such as the NHS App, while intending to harness AI for diagnostics, demonstrating they recognise the importance of technology for the future of the NHS and social care,” said the King’s Fund’s Pritesh Mistry.
Mistry stressed the need to focus on ensuring a suitably skilled workforce and for infrastructure funding to be confirmed to modernise digital infrastructure in order to deliver productivity improvements and cost savings.
“This technical infrastructure needs to be developed with an eye on emerging technologies to ensure data can be captured and innovation can thrive, and it will be essential that staff and the public feel trust in how the data is used,” Mistry said.
SPS Health Research’s Ryan Reed echoed the need for the workforce to be equipped with technology to deliver their jobs.
“The Labour government has to tackle this systemic problem by delivering the universal adoption of technology that delivers outcomes-based transformation, such as EPRs and digital booking services, alongside outsourcing that can remove menial tasks and increase productivity,” Reed said.
“The long-awaited tech workforce strategy that didn’t transpire under the previous government would go a long way in ensuring there is a clear mandate and plan to deliver this,” Reed said.
Read more on Digital Health:
The latest NHS wait times
The latest figures from the NHS on wait times show that limited progress is being made in improving the elective care backlog.
Median wait times have remained high – 14.2 weeks as at May 2024, compared to 14.1 weeks a year before, and having crept up from 12.7 weeks in May 2022.
The overall figure of patients on the waiting list has also continued to grow, reaching 7.6 million in May.
West Streeting highlights need to address long-term challenges for the NHS, cutting waiting lists ‘number one priority’.
Following Labour’s election win, West Streeting, speaking at the Future of Britain Conference 2024, said the new government would act “not just to address the immediate burning-deck issues, but also the long-term strategic challenges”.
Streeting said this would require “three big shifts”, including shifting care aware from hospitals and into the community, preventing ill health and a “shift from an analogue system” which will drive the “life sciences and med-tech revolution here and internationally”.
Read the full story in the Independent
New report on community diagnostics outlines recommendations to ‘get the NHS back on its feet’
The new report from the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) and Abbott Rapid Diagnostics, drawn from a roundtable with key stakeholders in healthcare, sets out to provide a point-of-care testing (POCT) roadmap for the new government, healthcare organisations and primary care providers.
Key recommendations from the report, “Community Diagnostics: Scaling Point-of-Care Testing for Patient-Centred Outcomes” include:
- Developing a comprehensive national POCT strategy within NHS England and revision of commissioning and tariff structures to incentivise the appropriate use of POCT.
- Implementing of POCT strategies at an integrated care system level to address local needs whilst aligning with national strategy.
- Investment in workforce training and robust governance frameworks to ensure quality and consistency.
Read more about the report on Pharmiweb
In other CDC news:
Shropshire Live: Nearly 57,000 patients seen as Community Diagnostic Centre now fully operational
East Midlands Business Link: Construction starts on new Community Diagnostic Centre
BBC News: Workington Innovation Centre preparatory works begin
BBC News: Work for Hereford’s new £18m diagnostic centre begins