ALMOST 6,500 people have benefited from diagnostic tests, scans and procedures at the North Bristol Community Diagnostic Centre since it opened in April.
The facility at Cribbs Causeway is run as a partnership between North Bristol NHS Trust and independent healthcare provider InHealth, to help more people access diagnostic services quickly and outside of a hospital setting.
When the permanent facility opens this month, even more people will be able to have tests on site, rather than in mobile facilities.
The centre will be one of the largest of its kind in the UK and the biggest ever built by InHealth. It will provide services including: Endoscopy, CT, MRI, plain film X-ray, ultrasound imaging, Echocardiograms and respiratory tests.
Community Diagnostic Centres are part of a national initiative to increase access to tests and procedures. The Government is investing £2.3 billion in opening 160 CDCs across the country by 2025.
Tim Whittlestone, North Bristol NHS Trust chief medical officer, said: “We have already seen tremendous benefits for our patients since the Community Diagnostic Centre opened in April. Moving into the permanent building will increase the number of scans and procedures we can offer to people so that they can have easy access to tests and know what treatment options might be available to them.”
Dr Joanne Medhurst, chief medical officer at NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, said: “The development of community diagnostic centres in the area is a significant step forward in enhancing healthcare accessibility and efficiency for our local people and reflects our commitment to providing high-quality, timely diagnostic services.
Geoff Searle, InHealth chief executive officer, said: “We have been eagerly awaiting the opening of the permanent CDC at North Bristol and to see it now in its final stages is a real milestone.”