Summary
As part of the NHS’s mission to improve access to diagnostic services, North Bristol NHS Trust has launched a new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in partnership with InHealth. Located by ASDA at Cribbs Causeway, the centre will deliver over 45,000 diagnostic procedures each year, providing faster diagnoses and more accessible testing for thousands of patients across the region. We partnered with North Bristol NHS Trust and InHealth on CDC digital integration to enable seamless, safe, and efficient transfer of patient care across distinct (and varied) systems, workflows, and clinical processes.
Background
Community Diagnostic Centres are a key part of the Government’s £2.3 billion investment in NHS recovery and transformation. Designed to reduce hospital footfall and speed up diagnoses, CDCs offer a convenient alternative to acute hospital settings – delivering multiple tests such as imaging, endoscopy, respiratory diagnostics, and echocardiograms under one roof.
At North Bristol, the CDC is operated through a public-private partnership between North Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and InHealth – the UK’s largest private provider of diagnostic services. This model significantly increases local capacity, allowing patients to access high-quality services closer to home. However, for the CDC to work in practice, digital connectivity is just as important as physical infrastructure.
Our Role
We provided the programme with the digital product management capabilities that ensured a seamless experience for both clinicians and patients. The goal was not just to wire up systems but to create joined-up services that enhance safety, speed, and continuity of patient care across organisational boundaries.
This meant:
- Real-time data exchange between North Bristol’s Radiology Information System (RIS) and InHealth’s Patient Administration System (PAS), ensuring referrals, appointments, and test results flow efficiently between partners.
- Integrated imaging and reporting, with MRI and CT scan results from the CDC, automatically sent to the Trust’s Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), enabling timely clinical decisions.
- Secure access for clinicians through clear identity and access management protocols, allowing NHS staff to view and input into InHealth’s systems without compromising data protection or patient safety.
- Connected care pathways, ensuring that diagnostic findings are routed directly back to GPs and consultants – streamlining reporting and cutting delays.
- Patient-centred digital features, such as consistent appointment communications, digital check-ins, and clear follow-up instructions, are all delivered across multiple technology stacks.
Outcome
The North Bristol CDC began accepting patients in April 2024 and is already contributing to reduced diagnostic backlogs and improved access to care. More than just a new building, it represents a digitally enabled model for public-private collaboration that can be replicated across the country.
By embedding digital integration at the heart of the service, the CDC is proving that better diagnostics aren’t just about cutting wait times – they’re about creating services that work for patients, clinicians, and the NHS as a whole.
From a product management perspective, this project exemplified user-centred CDC integration — going beyond implementing HL7 and DICOM technical standards to co-creating connected and scalable workflows that enhance both patient and clinician experience.
