Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal – Report of the Independent Review of Diagnostic Services for NHS England

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Professor Sir Mike Richards was commissioned to undertake a review of NHS diagnostics capacity (NHS Long Term Plan). The independent report, Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal, recommends the need for a new diagnostics model, where more facilities are created in free standing locations away from main hospital sites, including on the high street and in retail locations, providing quicker and easier access to tests to a range of tests on the same day, supporting earlier diagnosis, greater convenience to patients and the drive to reduce health inequalities.

Summary

The report recommends significant reform and investment in these critical diagnostic services, covering: new service delivery models; equipment and facilities; workforce; digitisation and connectivity; and key enablers to drive and deliver the required change. The suite of recommendations aim to increase and optimise diagnostics capacity and improve efficiency, which will in turn reduce waiting times and diagnostic backlogs, manage the safe delivery of diagnostic provision during the pandemic and improve patient outcomes.