HEALTH Minister Dr Zubir Ahmed has hailed new Community Diagnostic Centres as just what south Essex needs to improve the standards of healthcare.
On a visit to the newly unveiled Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at Thurrock Community Hospital on Friday, the Echo had the chance to speak with Dr Ahmed about how the standards of the NHS can be improved in the region.
Dr Ahmed was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care on September 6, and has experience as a healthcare practitioner and surgeon alongside his political career.
The Thurrock health centre is the first of four planned for the region, implemented to bring healthcare to the community, reduce wait times and streamline the NHS services at sites such as Basildon Hospital.
Speaking on the launch of the Thurrock CDC, Dr Ahmed told the Echo: "It's a strong sign that we're moving policy from a piece of paper and a 10 year health plan to on the ground change and delivery.
"As a health practitioner who is mostly hospital based, I'm extremely keen to move more of that care out of the hospitals and into the community, as it's the only way we'll get hospitals functioning better."
Three further CDC's are due to be implemented by the end of next year, including a Southend centre due to open before the year is out, and a Pitsea centre planned to open next year as the second largest centre in the UK.
Dr Ahmed added: "There are over 170 CDC's in the country, and our plans are to have many more, to go further and faster, and across mid and south Essex we want to see more of that shift happening in real time over the coming years.
"I've got no doubt that, after a £26billion injection by the chancellor into the NHS in the last budget, the fruits of that investment will be felt by the people of south and mid Essex."
Critical aspects of the development of new CDC sites across mid and south Essex are to make healthcare quicker, more convenient, and supply better patient outcomes.
Speaking on community felt impact of new CDC's, Minister Ahmed said: "Residents can expect care and diagnosis closer to home, and it will be faster than it is right now.
"It'll be an NHS working for their lives rather than the other way around, and centres like this provide a sense of community, and a centre point for social cohesion with more NHS staff working within the community - which will have an untold benefit."
He also declared that "already mid and south Essex has contributed to the overall 57,000 new elective appointments out of the five million we've delivered across the country".
A recent inspection from health watchdog the Care Quality Commission dropped the overall rating of Basildon Hospital from requires improvement to inadequate.
When questioned on how the services at healthcare sites in the region can be improved, Dr Ahmed said: "Let me just say head on - when reports like that come through, and league tables come through, for me that isn't the end of the conversation, but the beginning of the conversation.
"People like myself can come here, pop the hood, look under the bonnet, see what's going on, chat to the Chief executive, chat to NHS staff on the ground and say look - we're not here to point fingers, were here to put a hand around your shoulder and help lift you up.
"This CDC being here with state of the art technology and delivering faster diagnosis is an example of how we're going to lift up this area."