Two new Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) are set to open in Scunthorpe and Grimsby.
The £19.4m CDC on Lindum Street, Scunthorpe opens this week (w/c 3 March), while the £10m unit in Grimsby's Freshney Place Shopping Centre opens next week (w/c 10 March).
Both units will offer a number of the same services, including x-ray, blood tests, non-obstetric ultrasound and ECGs. However, each will also offer unique services - for example, lung function tests will be available at Scunthorpe CDC, while Grimsby CDC will offer bone density scanning.
Together, the centres will allow the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust to offer up to 300,000 more diagnostic appointments each year.
Greater flexibility
Ivan McConnell, NHS Humber Health Partnership group chief strategy and partnerships officer, said the centres would provide greater flexibility for patients while taking some pressure off busy hospital sites.
“These centres will help to make a significant difference to patients across northern Lincolnshire, providing additional appointments in easily accessible locations,” he said. “Not only will patients no longer have to come to our busy hospital sites for these tests, but the centres will also provide greater flexibility, with early morning, evening, and weekend appointments available.”
“Another benefit of providing these additional appointments away from our hospital sites is that it frees up clinicians working in our hospitals to care for patients requiring acute care, reducing the amount of time inpatients need to wait for diagnostic tests – and, of course, with less people coming to our hospitals there will also be less demand for parking too.”
CAP bids
The case for the CDCs was assembled by colleagues across the Humber and North Yorkshire Collaboration of Acute Providers (CAP). CAP consists of three NHS Trusts - Humber Health Partnership, York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals, and Harrogate District - and works towards improving the health of people in Humber and North Yorkshire.
Wendy Scott, managing director of CAP, called the new CDCs a “major step forward” for Humber and North Yorkshire.
“We are thrilled to see these two new CDCs go live,” she said. “They form part of a programme of eight, spanning all corners of our region, that are being delivered by the CAP.”
“These successful bids – supported by all the Trusts – are a major step forward for Humber and North Yorkshire as a whole and are another home-grown example of how this collaboration continues to make a positive difference.”