Workington’s Community Diagnostic Centre has seen over 30,000 appointments since its opening eight months ago.
The centre, on part of the town’s Central Car Park, offers MRIs, CTs, ultrasounds, echocardiograms and lung function testing.
More services are set to be introduced in the coming year.
From this month, the centre aims to deliver up to 4,000 tests a month, with 46,000 tests planned for the next financial year.
Since opening, the centre has delivered:
- 12,450 CT scans
- 5,290 Ultrasound scans
- 4,870 MRI scans
Nicholas Duncan, Community Diagnostic Centre manager at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are now performing thousands of tests every month, welcoming patients from across the county.
“By moving these vital tests away from the acute hospital and into the community, we can diagnose conditions earlier, reduce waiting times and improve the overall patient experience.
“The next steps are to develop referral pathways and one‑stop clinics, where patients can have multiple tests on one day to save them time and to help us deliver more holistic, patient‑centred care.”
Urology and upper gastrointestinal services are set to begin soon.
The service runs seven days a week from 8am to 8pm.
Trudie Davies, the health trust’s interim chief executive, said: “Good diagnostic testing is at the heart of what we want to deliver.
“These tests are often the key to finding the cause of someone’s symptoms and starting treatment without delay.
“Over the past year we’ve placed real focus on improving diagnostics, and that commitment is reflected in our latest performance data, which shows we are the most improved trust for the six‑week diagnostic standard.
“The centre has been a huge part of this success. The team there are innovative, ambitious, and determined to make the most of the new facilities, bringing high‑quality care closer to home for many of our communities.”
