What is Community diagnostic centre?
A '''community diagnostic centre''' is a place where people can go for medical tests in England. They were started in 2021 because of the the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. It was important to keep people out of hospitals where they were more likely to get diseases. There were 40 centres at first. £350 million was there for the first year. <ref>{{Cite web|title=40 community diagnostic centres launching across England|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/40-community-diagnostic-centres-launching-across-england|access-date=2023-02-06|website=GOV.UK|language=en}}</ref> £2.3 billion was set aside for up to 160 of the centres by March 2025. Most of them are on health care sites, with about 20% in shopping centres and similar places.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Community diagnostic centres ‘may struggle to live up to ministers’ promises’|url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2022/10/13/community-diagnostic-centres-may-struggle-to-live-up-to-ministers-promises/|access-date=2023-02-06|website=www.shropshirestar.com|language=en|archive-date=2022-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028163739/https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2022/10/13/community-diagnostic-centres-may-struggle-to-live-up-to-ministers-promises/|url-status=dead}}</ref> By October 2022 92 centres had opened and they had done two million tests, checks, and scans. They are run by private companies.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Clover|first=Ben|date=2022-11-28|title=NHSE exploring state-owned provider to replace diagnostic outsourcing|url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-efficiency/nhse-exploring-state-owned-provider-to-replace-diagnostic-outsourcing/7033757.article|access-date=2023-02-11|website=Health Service Journal|language=en}}</ref> In August 2023 the government announced 13 new centres. They can deliver 742,000 more tests a year. 8 will be run by the private sector.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Neville|first=Sarah|date=2023-08-03|title=New diagnostic centres to boost NHS testing capacity in England|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/