Extended-hours diagnostic hubs lift throughput across London
London’s community diagnostic network has accelerated activity in 2025, with half of the capital’s 14 Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) now operating 12 hours a day, seven days a week, and close to two million checks and scans delivered in London over four years, shifting access earlier in the pathway and reducing repeat outpatient attendances.
Across England, CDC delivery reached 7.2 million tests and scans between July 2024 and August 2025, while 2.35 million diagnostic tests were recorded across all settings in August 2025 alone; London’s extended opening is aligned with that national lift, indicating capacity added at hub level is translating into higher completed volumes.
Three further London CDCs—Mile End, New Addington and Queen Mary’s Sidcup—are scheduled by the end of 2025, expanding MRI, CT, ultrasound, X-ray, endoscopy and pathology slots, with booking data showing earlier appointment offers for high-volume pathways that historically drove follow-up visits.
A transport angle is visible in operations: the London Ambulance Service reported 22.1% of incidents resolved through “hear-and-treat” in the year to March 2025, up from 19.9% a year earlier, easing conveyances and allowing hospital-based diagnostic capacity to prioritise patients who need in-person assessment on the day.
Taken together, the counts and rates point to productivity and access gains: 14 CDCs in London with half running 12/7, nearly two million London tests over four years, 7.2 million CDC tests nationally since July 2024, around 2.35 million diagnostic tests in August 2025 across England, and a 2.2-point rise in hear-and-treat year on year.
All figures are from NHS England’s Community Diagnostic Centres updates and Monthly Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity (to August 2025), and London Ambulance Service performance reports (year to March 2025).
