Diagnostics is a key part of planned care. We have continued to grow and improve our services here in the region. This has helped more patients get tests and scans quickly and closer to home.
This year we did over 1.7 million tests and scans. This was across 15 areas. The main ones are MRI, CT, Xray and ultrasound.
14% of patients had their test or scan within six weeks of referral in the North East and North Cumbria. This compares to 22% nationally.
Although we did lots more tests and scans this year, we still need to improve waiting times. The national standard is that less than 5% of patients should wait six weeks or more for diagnostic tests.
Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs)
We now have 3 CDCs in the region. They are helping to improve access with fast access to tests and scans. This year, we opened 2 new CDCs in Tees Valley and Cumbria. We have also extended our Metrocentre CDC to see more patients. This was thanks to £10 million of funding for extra equipment and clinics.
We did over 306,000 tests and scans for patients who came to our CDCs this year.
We have changed how some of our pathways work at our CDCs. We now see more patients at ‘one-stop clinics’ which is much better for them. It means they don’t have to come back for repeat visits to the NHS.
Digital diagnostics
Technology plays a key part in our work to improve diagnostics. It helps us to do more tests, share results more quickly and support our FTs to work together. This year we received £10.9 million of funding to help us do this. We are using this to:
- create a single system that all FTs can use to order tests and view results.
- give staff tools to choose the right scan or test and reduce differences in requests.
- create a shared dashboard so we can track demand and see how well we are doing.
- improve the way our pathology teams manage tests, track samples and report results.
- create a shared reporting system for images so staff can access these between FTs.
Networks
We have 3 networks in diagnostics which bring together experts to discuss how our FTs can work better. Key highlights this year include:
- Pathology Network – A shared plan is now in place for all labs to support workforce gaps.
- Imaging network - Image sharing now live across five trusts, with more to follow.
- Endoscopy network - A shared set of non-urgent referral rules in place across all providers.
Our providers reported Over 106,000 tissues samples using digital systems. This is the highest number in the country.
