The government is investing £237 million to expand Community Diagnostic Centres across England.
It is hoped patients will benefit from faster and more convenient tests, checks and scans thanks to 36 new and expanded Community Diagnostic Centres.
The funding is part of the extra £26 billion a year this government is investing in the NHS.
Four new CDCs will open in Gorton, Luton, Boston and Bideford during 2026/27.
32 centres will be expanded and improved with new scanning equipment, outpatient clinic space and additional testing facilities.
Of these,17 will be physically expanded with new rooms and state-of-the-art scanning and diagnostic equipment - such as MRI, CT and ultrasound scanners - significantly increasing the range and volume of tests each centre can offer.
The other 15 will receive targeted enhancements, adding specialist kit, new clinic rooms or additional services such as audiology, ophthalmology and respiratory care to existing facilities.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: "Thanks to this government’s investment and modernisation, the NHS delivered a record number of tests and scans last year. But there’s still a long way to go before we’re catching disease on time.
"I was one of the lucky ones - my kidney cancer was caught early, and today I’m living cancer-free. But it shouldn’t be a question of luck. The NHS should be there for all of us when we need it, catching illness earlier so we can treat it faster.
"As part of the record investment we are making in the NHS’s recovery, these new CDCs part of the biggest expansion in NHS diagnostics in a generation - continuing the progress we’re making and helping save lives.
"We’re not just investing in more, but delivering differently. The NHS should fit around people’s lives, not require patients to fit their lives around the NHS. Community Diagnostic Centres mean patients can get tests, checks and scans while they’re doing their shopping on the weekend or on the way to pick up the kids from school - without travelling across town to a hospital.
"This is part of the extra £26 billion the government is investing in a new, modern NHS that is fit for the future."
Professor Stella Vig, National Clinical Director for Elective Care at NHS England, said: "We’re making it easier to access care, and our network of Community Diagnostic Centres deliver important diagnostic tests nearer to people’s homes, with new, expanded or enhanced centres available to patients across England.
"This expansion means even more patients can have vital checks like MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds in a convenient location at a time that suits them, supporting the NHS’s drive to bring down waiting times even further."
