The NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board is launching a new diagnostic hub at the Swadlincote Health Centre in February 2026 to help find cancer in patients at an earlier stage. This new service brings advanced testing tools directly to the town to help improve survival rates for residents in Derbyshire.
The hub will use mobile CT scanning vans and specialised clinics to test for lung, bowel and breast cancers. These services will be delivered in partnership with University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) as part of a plan to make health checks more convenient for people who live away from major city hospitals.
Local doctors at surgeries across the area will be able to fast-track patients for these screenings without them needing to travel to Derby or Burton for an initial appointment. This effort is supported by a regional funding boost for GP surgeries designed to increase the number of appointments available to the public.
The project is part of the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme, which focuses on checking people aged 55 to 74 who are at higher risk. Health leaders hope that by bringing these tests to the high street they can reach 50% of the target population and find cases that might have been missed in the past.
This move follows reporting by the Health Service Journal that some regional trusts needed extra support to meet cancer treatment targets. By catching the disease earlier at local hubs, the NHS aims to make treatment more effective and potentially save hundreds of lives through earlier intervention.
