Broad Marsh announced as site for Community Diagnostic Centre and Nottingham University Hospitals chosen to run facility

Plans have been revealed which show that a new state-of-the-art Community Diagnostic Centre will be located in the Broad Marsh regeneration development in the city centre, and will be run and staffed by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Department for Health and Social Care announced last year that it is funding 13 new Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs), including one in the centre of Nottingham, to help reduce the backlog of patients waiting for diagnostic tests.

CDCs are designed as a one-stop shop which support GPs by providing direct access to diagnostics services such as MRI, CT, x-ray, ultrasound, echocardiography, ECG, and lung function testing. This allows for more rapid diagnosis of conditions such as cancer, which in turn will help patients access the life-saving treatments they need more quickly.

We have been working closely with colleagues at Nottingham City Council, who we will be leasing the building from, and now have an initial agreement in place for us to proceed with the £25million NHS facility.

The Broad Marsh regeneration has already seen the development of a new Central Library, car park and bus station, a new Nottingham College city hub and has transformed streets and public spaces in the area by increasing footfall, particularly supporting businesses on Lister Gate.

When the CDC opens, it will provide an additional 100,000 diagnostic appointments each year. Once at full capacity it will provide in excess of 140,000 appointments annually, which will be available to patients through hospital consultants initially, and eventually also via GPs.

To help address the immediate backlog of diagnostics tests before the permanent CDC is open, temporary community diagnostics tests have been available behind NEMS Platform One near Nottingham Railway Station since December 2023.

Paul Matthew, Chief Financial Officer at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said:

“We are delighted that we can now share the news that our excellent, highly skilled and dedicated NUH staff will be running the future CDC facility in Nottingham city centre, which will help to change the lives of so many of our patients for the better.

“This centre will be vital in reducing the number of people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire waiting too long for diagnostic tests so that they can then either have peace of mind they deserve, or can begin any treatment required sooner. It will also enable patients to access these tests without needing to travel to a hospital.

“We look forward to working with our partners to further develop plans to help more patients across the city access the care they need.”

In addition, the CDC will create 75 new jobs in Nottingham across a range of disciplines including consultant radiologists, radiographers, imaging assistants, physiologists and administrators. When the unit is at full capacity it will employ 135 staff.

Planning applications and formal contracts will now be drawn up to enable this important new NHS centre to progress.

The Lister Gate facility will be the second CDC in Nottinghamshire after plans were announced for a centre in Mansfield, to be run by Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The national programme of CDCs is part of the NHS Long Term Plan to provide patients with diagnostic care nearer to home without the need to attend acute hospital sites.

Nationally CDCs aim to improve population health outcomes and efficiency, reduce cancer waiting times and health inequalities, and help to address the elective backlog recovery exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The national programme is backed by £2.3 billion in government funding, and the CDCs are based in convenient locations such as shopping centres and football stadiums and have already delivered an additional six million tests, checks and scans.

Nottingham City Council Leader, Cllr David Mellen, said: “This is another major step forward in the transformation of the Broad Marsh area that has been taking place over the last couple of years.

“Following the opening of the new Central Library and with work underway on the new Green Heart city centre park, we’re really pleased to be able to announce with Nottingham University Hospitals that this fantastic new health facility will also be located at Broad Marsh.

“When the shopping centre closed following the collapse of intu, we said we wanted to see something different for Broad Marsh, not another shopping centre. This was underlined by the feedback we received from local people as part of the Big Conversation engagement exercise, the largest the council had ever undertaken.

“The Community Diagnostic Centre is exactly the kind of facility everyone wants to see at Broad Marsh. It will provide a boost for businesses and jobs in the area by increasing footfall. By reusing part of the frame of the old shopping centre, as proposed in the Broad Marsh vision, the building will support the city’s ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2028.

“It will also help address some of the significant health issues and inequalities Nottingham faces as a city. People will be able to access vital health services right in the centre of the city, near to the new bus station and car park and a short walk from the train station, in a state-of-the-art building surrounded by new people-friendly green streets and public spaces.”

Amanda Sullivan, Chief Executive at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board, said: “It’s fantastic news that Nottingham and Nottinghamshire’s new NHS-run Community Diagnostic Centre will be opening to patients to provide an easier and altogether better patient experience by having a host of diagnostic services in one place.

“Earlier diagnosis is better for everyone. Not only will the increased testing help to improve the health of the local population and meet the growing demand for diagnostic services, it will also help free up capacity at our local hospitals and save money for the health and care system.”

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Joint Local Transformation Plan for Children and Young People’s Emotional and Mental Health 2016-2024

The October 2023 update for the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Joint Local Transformation Plan for Children and Young People’s Emotional Well-Being and Mental Health 2016-2024 is now available to download below.

The aim of the local transformation plan is to explain progress to date and future priorities in relation to children and young people’s mental health. Please find attached the approved Nottinghamshire County and Nottingham City Joint Local Transformation Plan which has been endorsed by the ICS Children and Young People’s and Adult Mental Health Board.

The Plan includes Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Authorities, and services commissioned by Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board.

Joint monthly shout-outs

This month we have awarded a joint shout-out to two teams who are demonstrating great work:

The Digital Inclusion Officers (DIO) Team from Primary Integrated community Service (PICS)

The team has identified and supported patients in the Nottingham West PCN, who either lack basic internet access skills or availability to set up and use effectively the NHS app. This has improved access for patients and carers and enabled them to have more control of their own health needs and support.

The DIO team has offered 121 support to patients at local weekly drop-ins, roadshows, flu clinics and pharmacies. They are also working closely with GP practices to deliver patient support, which is helping to save time and money for the practices.

All of the DIO team have also accessed carers awareness training and resources from Nottinghamshire Carers Association and have become NHS Carers Champions to continue to foster inclusivity and provide support, and seek to enhance the lives of unpaid carers relating to the challenges they may face when accessing digital healthcare

Bassetlaw Enhanced Health in Care Home Team

The Care Home Model moves away from traditional reactive models of care delivery towards proactive care which is centred on the needs of individual residents, their families and care home staff. This approach is achieved through a whole-system, collaborative approach.

The Team has developed strong relationships with all the care homes and GPs in their areas and attends weekly MDT meetings. It is helping to make improvements include a reduction in falls and increasing training for care home staff to help them care for their residents.

One care home deputy manager said: “It’s an invaluable resource that enhances the care and continuity of our residents lives immensely. We now have a point of contact with the wider team, access to full holistic assessments within seven days of admission, regular visits from yourself and the team and we feel really supported in everything we do.

“The training that the enhanced health in care homes team provides and supports us with is of top quality and every member of your team is approachable and accessible. I honestly don’t know how we would manage without you now.”

Shortlist announced for first ever Health and Care Awards

After receiving a fantastic 150 entries from across the health, care and voluntary sector, the shortlist for the first ever Health and Care Awards has been announced.

The awards have been organised to celebrate success across the Integrated Care System – a partnership of NHS services, local authorities, public sector and voluntary organisations. The awards are being run in partnership with the Nottinghamshire Lieutenancy as part of their commitment to mark 75 years of the NHS.

Here are the shortlisted entries:

Best outcome award

• Community heart failure pathway and access (clinical pharmacy support for Nottingham West Primary Care Network)
• Children’s Bereavement Centre: 2023 bereavement residential
• One version of the truth data (supporting hospital discharge)

Health inequalities award

• Improving the uptake of health checks for people with learning disabilities from ethnic minority communities
• Targeted Lung Health Check project team
• Kashmeera Gorecha (improving uptake and understanding of talking therapies in South Asian communities)

Value for money award

• Promoting Independence Service (Bassetlaw Action Centre)
• Working to Achieve Value and Excellence (WAVE) Programme (Nottingham University Hospitals)
• NEOS Daycase Arthroplasty MDT Team (Nottingham University Hospitals)

Social value award

• Small steps Big Changes Family Mentor Service
• DFN Project Search at Sherwood Forest Hospitals (helping people with special educational needs and disabilities into paid employment)
• Trevor Clower (support for unpaid carers)

Prevention award

• Gedling – Falls Prevention Project
• Bassetlaw Food Insecurity Network
• Children with Diabetes Team and Active Hospitals

Equity award

• Smokefree team
• Oasis Community Centre
• The BAME wig project
• Andrew Dobb (Family Support Worker in the Community CAMHS South Team)

Lord-Lieutenant’s partnership award

• Mental Health Support Team Steering Group
• NUH Prehab Service (preparing people for cancer surgery)
• Veterans Care in Custody

The winners will be announced at a ceremony held at Nottingham University on 24 October. One winner from the categories will be selected to win the overall Lord-Lieutenant’s Health and Care Award.

Two entries have also been highly commended by the judges:

• Rosewood PCN severe multiple disadvantage Team
• Richard McHugh (co-founder of ‘In Sam’s Name’ charity)

Kathy McLean, Chair of the Integrated Care Board, said: “I am truly delighted by the response we’ve received to our first ever Health and Care Awards. It has been fantastic to find out more about the collaboration between different organisations to help improve health and care for the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

“Thank you to everyone who has entered the awards and a big congratulations to all those projects and people who have been shortlisted. I look forward to hearing more about your work at our awards ceremony later this month.”

Sir John Peace CVO, Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire said: “The awards provide a perfect opportunity to report the excellent care we have found, at a time when providing complex care in all its forms to meet the differing needs of individuals and populations is challenging. 

“All the entries we’ve received are innovative, creative and contribute towards ensuring that people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire can access the best person-centred care possible. Well done to everyone involved.”

Keep up to date with the category winners and overall award winner by following us on Twitter on 24 October (7.15 – 8.30pm) @Notts _ICS

ENDS

For more information contact julie.cuthbert2@nhs.net or 07901 513299

Monthly shout out – Expert Patient Programme

Congratulations to our monthly shoutout, the Expert Patient Programme from Bassetlaw Action Centre. The programme is part of a new government initiative to help people living with long-term conditions to improve their quality of life through a self-management course led by someone else with a long term health condition.

The programme is a time-limited course, suitable for people who have any long-term health condition, including Arthritis, Heart Disease, Stroke, Depression, MS, Epilepsy, ME, Schizophrenia, Fibromyalgia, Diabetes, HIV and other conditions that impact on a person’s life.

The course has been designed to help people with a chronic or long-term illness regain as much control over their physical and emotional well-being as possible. It complements existing health care programmes and treatments, empowering participants to be more informed and better able to develop partnerships with their medical practitioners.

It is delivered by tutors, who are living with long term health conditions, who use a detailed, scripted manual, underpinned by ongoing research. They work with participants to set practical and achievable action plans that are evaluated weekly.

Last year, Bassetlaw Action Centre received 233 referrals into the programme with 171 people completing at least 4 out of the 6 sessions. 99 per cent of people said they would recommend the service, 96 per cent reported that they felt listened to and understood as well as empowered to make choices and decisions about their health.

Paula Graham, Health and Wellbeing Manager at Bassetlaw Action Centre said, “We are pleased that people who completed the course reported that they have greater confidence in dealing with their illness, experience less pain, fatigue, depression and anxiety. They are more likely to continue with exercise and relaxation techniques; make fewer visits to their GP and have better communication with health professionals.

“The reason the course is successful is because people with different conditions share many of the same problem. No matter what illness they have, it is often the consequences of that illness which causes them problems and reduced their quality of life. This programme helps participants facilitate the development of self-management skills, such as problem solving and goal setting.”

John Bradley, who competed the course, said: “I would like to thank your organisation for providing the excellent course and allowing me to benefit from it. It has given me very valuable knowledge that is already helping me to cope with my COPD. One example is that I study food labels much more diligently and that makes me think of the course.”

Course tutor Norman Shaw said: “As a SWP tutor I find doing this very rewarding in as seeing how the participants change over the course and become more confident in managing their long-term condition. I also find that it is very helpful with my own long-term condition as I am always finding new ideas and learning from the participants.