Oncology care programme roundtable 2: Community Diagnostic Centres and workforce

Following our work on the disruption to cancer pathways throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan, PPP launches Community Diagnostic Centres: The Next Step in Oncology Care to explore the rollout of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) to date and what they need to provide for industry, clinicians and patients. These discussions aim to align with The 10-Year Cancer Plan.

In order for CDCs to meet clinical and diagnostic demand, adequate workforce staffing is required. However, the NHS currently struggles to fill vacancies for oncology consultant posts and other aspects of care provision are critically understaffed throughout the healthcare system. We aim to explore the implications of the roll-out of CDCs for employed clinicians, nursing staff and other relevant allied healthcare professionals within the NHS, the workload requirements associated with employment in CDCs and the considerations needed regarding training and education to facilitate recruitment.