A new state-of-the-art health centre has opened in a shopping complex in Birmingham - giving NHS patients access to a range of diagnostic tests closer to home.
South Birmingham Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), located at Maypole Retail Park, is equipped with cutting-edge imaging and diagnostic technology and is open daily from 8am to 8pm.
It offers NHS appointments to patients across Birmingham for a range of diagnostic tests, including CT, MRI, ultrasound, X-ray and respiratory tests, with further services due to be introduced as the site continues to mobilise.
Around 37,000 patients a year will be able to have diagnostic appointments at the CDC, which is being delivered through a partnership between NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and InHealth - an independent healthcare provider specialising in diagnostic services and community-based diagnostic centres.
CDCs are part of a national NHS programme to provide more tests and scans away from busy hospital sites, in convenient community locations closer to where people live, work and shop. They support earlier diagnosis, help reduce pressure on hospitals and improve access closer to home for patients for planned diagnostic appointments.
The opening of South Birmingham CDC comes as the NHS continues its focus on reducing waiting times for elective treatment (planned surgery), with the Government setting a national target for 65% of patients to be seen within 18 weeks by March this year. Latest NHS figures, released today, confirm the NHS has delivered this goal and in Birmingham and Solihull an average of 67.8% of patients are being seen within 18 weeks.
Diagnostics are an important part of elective care recovery, as many patients need a test or scan before a diagnosis can be made or treatment can begin. Across Birmingham and Solihull, CDCs delivered over 93,500 diagnostic tests in the 2025/26 financial year, with activity continuing to increase.
Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care), Karin Smyth, said: “This government has got the NHS on the road to recovery, with waiting lists falling to their lowest level in three years and a record 29 million diagnostic tests and scans carried out last year, but there's still a lot more to do.
“The NHS should fit around people’s lives, not the other way around, and this brand-new, state-of-the-art centre for Birmingham is going to offer convenient tests, checks and scans -- without a trip to hospital.
“Community Diagnostic Centres like this one are a vital part of how we’re rebuilding the NHS and getting people seen on time again. More of these will soon be opening across the country through our £237 million investment in new, expanded and enhanced centres just like this.”
Danielle Oum, Chair of NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board and NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board cluster, said: ““The opening of South Birmingham Community Diagnostic Centre is an important step in giving patients more convenient access to the care they need closer to home.
“Diagnostics are a vital part of elective recovery. Many patients need a scan or test before they can receive a diagnosis or begin treatment, and we know that waiting for tests and results can be an anxious time for patients and their families. Increasing diagnostic capacity is therefore key to reducing waits, supporting earlier diagnosis, easing patient worries and reducing pressure on our hospitals.
“CDCs also support the direction set out in the national 10-Year Health Plan, shifting services from hospitals to communities, creating health services in our neighbourhoods, and increasing prevention of illness through earlier diagnosis.
“That is particularly important in south Birmingham, where we have some of the highest levels of deprivation in our city and where some people face additional barriers to accessing healthcare.
“By providing more tests in community settings, we can help reduce some of those barriers, give patients faster answers, and support better outcomes for our local populations.”
Iain Pickles, Chief Operating Officer at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are pleased to be working with our partners to increase access to diagnostic services for patients in south Birmingham and the wider Birmingham area.
“South Birmingham CDC provides a modern, purpose-built environment for planned diagnostic tests away from our main hospital sites. This supports patients to access care more conveniently, while helping hospital teams manage demand and focus acute capacity where it is most needed.
“The centre will play an increasingly important role in supporting earlier diagnosis and the wider recovery of planned care.”
Amelia Staniland, Managing Director - Diagnostics at InHealth, said: “We are delighted to be working with our NHS partners to deliver South Birmingham Community Diagnostic Centre and expand access to high-quality diagnostic services for patients.
“InHealth has worked in partnership with the NHS for more than 30 years, and Community Diagnostic Centres are an important part of increasing the range, scale and accessibility of diagnostic services for local communities.
“This centre will provide additional capacity for NHS patients in a convenient community setting, helping more people access the tests they need closer to home.”
Patients are referred to CDCs primarily by hospital clinical specialists for planned diagnostic tests and scans. These referrals allow patients to access diagnostic tests in convenient community-based locations rather than attending traditional acute hospital settings.
South Birmingham CDC is the second Community Diagnostic Centre to open in Birmingham and Solihull in a retail setting, following the opening of North Solihull CDC at Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre – also delivered in partnership with InHealth - which was officially opened by Health Minister Stephen Kinnock in May 2025. A third CDC – Washwood Heath CDC - is located at Washwood Heath Health and Wellbeing Centre in Saltley, East Birmingham.