Bexley welcomed the exciting news this week (31 October) that NHS England has given formal approval and funding of £9.6m for a new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup.

Cllr Baroness O’Neill of Bexley OBE, Leader of the London Borough of Bexley, said,

I’m delighted that we’ve been able to secure this new service at Queen Mary’s for local people. It marks another milestone in our campaign to ensure the Bexley community have access to the health care services they need in the borough.

Working alongside the late James Brokenshire MP, our vision has always been to see more services for local people at Queen Mary’s. The addition of the dialysis and cancer centres as well as multiple providers on the site and additional investment has already transformed the hospital.

James was a committed supporter of Queen Mary’s and in his role as MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup joined our campaign to save the hospital back in 2012.

This new centre will cut travel and waiting times for our residents and help them get the treatment they need faster. We’re proud to have played an instrumental role with partners in saving the Queen Mary’s site and securing this centre.”

On completion, the new CDC will provide more than 50,000 additional diagnostic tests annually, increasing existing capacity in phlebotomy (blood tests) and establishing new capacity for CT, MRI and X-ray diagnostics.

The new facility will be delivered across two phases, with phlebotomy services due to start in December 2023 and CT, MRI and X-ray services being operational from March 2025.

This approval represents success for partnership working in the Integrated Care System (ICS) and the London Borough of Bexley with Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, Oxleas NHS Trust, the Integrated Care Board, the Acute Provider Collaborative.