Southend Diagnostic Centre officially opens
Southend’s new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) was officially opened yesterday and is already bringing faster care to patients in an easy to access, central location.
Since opening earlier this month, the centre - located in the former Argos unit within the Victoria Shopping Centre - has already started providing quicker, more convenient access to essential tests, including X rays, ultrasounds and heart assessments. More than 400 tests have been carried out in the first two weeks.
Operated by Thrive Health Hubs, the centre will offer 30,000 additional appointments each year, helping to significantly reduce waiting times and ensuring patients receive the care they need sooner.
Dawn Scrafield, Chief Executive of the Trust, said: “Southend CDC opening to patients is a huge moment for the people of mid and south Essex. This centre will make it much easier for people to get the tests they need quickly and at a time and location that works for them.”
The opening ceremony saw the ribbon cut by Bayo Alaba, MP for Southend East and Rochford. Also in attendance was David Burton-Sampson, MP for Southend West; Cllr Maxine Sadza, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Healthier Communities; and Cllr Paul Collins, Cabinet Member for Finance, Assets and Public Transport.
Minister of State for Health Karin Smyth said: “Thanks to the government’s record extra £26 billion investment in the NHS, the people of Southend now have access to convenient tests, checks and scans in the Victoria Shopping Centre – 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“The 170 Community Diagnostic Centres nationwide spare the need to make longer, inconvenient trips to hospitals the other side of town and give people the chance to get checked on their lunchbreak or on their way to pick up the kids from school.
“With waiting lists at their lowest in three years, state-of-the-art facilities like this one right here in Southend are playing a major role as we shift more care into the community, cut the backlogs and take the NHS on its road to recovery.”
Barbara Madyira, a Sonographer at Southend Health Centre, said: “The new centre offers significant benefits for patients, especially being so well located on the high street and within easy walking distance of both the bus and train.
“It feels really modern and welcoming, which we hope will help reduce any anxiety patients may have about their appointment.
“For me, as a clinician, it’s great to have such spacious and well equipped consultation rooms. The equipment is modern and highly advanced, which means we can deliver the highest standard of care. The centre has been exceptionally well received by both patients and staff.”
Southend CDC forms part of a national initiative to expand diagnostic capacity across the country. It follows the opening of the Thurrock CDC in September 2025, with further centres currently under construction in Braintree and Pitsea.