The £18m facility opened on Albion Street in September
Almost two and a half thousand potentially life-saving tests have been carried out at Hull’s new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in the space of just a month, the NHS Humber Health Partnership has announced. The £18m facility opened on Albion Street in September.
Since then, a total of 2,415 tests have been conducted including MRI and ultrasound scans, blood tests, and CT scans, the latter of which are used to generate detailed images of internal organs, bones and tissue.
At the top of the performance list is the x-ray service with 990 procedures carried out to date. This accounts for more than two in every five diagnostic tests undertaken there.
Leah Stabler, CDC General Manager with NHS Humber Health Partnership spoke about the fantastic news. She said: “It’s fantastic to see the CDC is already delivering what it was intended to, and that’s faster access to diagnostic tests.
“In some cases, patients seen here could otherwise have been waiting days or even weeks for these types of tests at their GP surgery or within a main hospital setting. Instead, we’ve been able to offer earlier appointments to thousands of patients in a central location, allowing hospital diagnostic services to focus on the more seriously unwell and hopefully helping to reduce some of the anxiety people can experience as they wait for tests too.”
Catherine Hellewell, senior sister with the phlebotomy service said: “We’re finding quite a few people who come to us are having other tests here at the same time, making this a bit of a one-stop-shop and really improving their experience as a patient overall. Lots of people comment on the lovely building we have, how easy their journey was or how quickly they were booked in, and all this feedback helps to reassure us that we’re getting things right.”
The NHS Humber Health Partnership said that patients in need of blood tests are currently referred to the CDC by hospital-based clinicians only, with the exception of GP practices taking part in an exciting new pilot. Catherine explained: “We recently began a pilot project with four Hull GP practices enabling them to direct patients straight to the CDC for blood tests instead of patients having to wait to have them done at the surgery. This has proved so successful that we’ll be rolling this out to more GP practices next week.
“The earlier the tests are carried out, the nearer people are to getting answers and either starting a treatment plan or being given peace of mind. Where surgeries are experiencing pressures or high demand for tests, it makes sense to offer patients an alternative where we have capacity and where they are able to be seen more quickly. We are confident that the results of the pilot project will demonstrate the real value of central, community-based diagnostic facilities for both our patients and colleagues within primary care.”
Leah spoke about the different tests available, as well as what to expect. She said: “A total of eight different types of diagnostic test are now available here, from imaging tests like CT, MRI, and ultrasound scans to x-rays, ECGs, spirometry and other lung function tests, so it’s worth a chat with your doctor, or with the hospital booking team responsible for the test you need, to see if the CDC is an option for you.
“No patient wants to experience unnecessary delays and we know just how worrying waits can be, so do chat to your consultant or other health professional to see if tests at the CDC could help to speed up your diagnosis and any resulting treatment.” The number of tests carried out is expected to increase, peaking at 140,000 patients per year at full capacity, as referrals increase.
The opening of the facility has also created approximately 100 new clinical and non- clinical jobs. Hull Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) can be contacted on 01482 624800.
Is Hull the best place to live in Yorkshire? You can have your say by completing the poll below or by clicking here.