A collaborative project between Stockport NHS Foundation and partners to provide more diagnostic access for people in Stockport and Tameside has been highly commended at this year’s national Health Service Journal (HSJ) Independent Healthcare Providers Awards.

The awards provide a national platform to recognise excellence, share success and highlight the growing role of independent healthcare providers within the NHS’s transformation journey.

Staff from Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and  Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust and were pleased to attend the awards with the support of project partner Inhealth. 

Inhealth Group partnered with both NHS trusts to deliver the South East Manchester Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at the Crown Point Shopping Retail centre in Denton. The CDC offers high tech scanning, heart tests and other diagnostic services for over 24,000 patients a year across both trusts.

Between November 2024 and November they carried out over 9,100 CT scans, 6,600 MRI scans, 3,800 echocardiograms, 2,700 DEXA scans and 1,500 ultrasound appointments.

Inhealth was shortlisted in the ‘Best Provider of Community and Primary Care’ category and awarded highly commended in the ‘Best Provider of Diagnostic Services’ category for an outstanding contribution to NHS 10 year plan through delivery of nationwide CDC programme.

Through innovative digital integration, workforce expansion and community engagement, InHealth has opened eight CDCs across the country in under two years, improving access and patient experience for over 150,000 people. This nationwide programme has helped to expand diagnostic capacity, reduce waiting times and bring care closer to home.

It demonstrates measurable improvements in NHS performance, exemplifies true collaboration and provides a scalable, replicable model for national impact. InHealth’s CDC programme sets a new benchmark for patient-centred, efficient and sustainable diagnostics across England.