Update on Plymouth’s new Community Diagnostic Centre
Last month we shared the news that Plymouth has been announced as a site for one of eight new Community Diagnostic Centres due to open. The new Diagnostic Centre will be located in Plymouth’s West End, helping regenerate the city centre and provide wider access to critical diagnostic tests.
Plans are underway to prepare for the opening of a temporary CT scanner unit on the site by the end of September, while the design and build of the permanent building, also at Colin Campbell Court, continues. CT scans involve a series of x-rays which have incredible accuracy and allow Radiologists to detect disease or injury as early as possible. The benefits include reducing the need for exploratory surgeries, improving cancer diagnosis, and helping to determine treatment of injury, cardiac disease and stroke.
Stuart Windsor, Future Hospitals Director at University Hospitals Plymouth, said: “We know that access to good, early diagnostics is key because having those tests early and getting an early diagnosis means people have a greater chance of a better outcome when there is something wrong. This should therefore reduce health inequities for those living in areas of greater deprivation and improve overall health outcomes in Plymouth.”
A planning application for the temporary unit will be submitted this week, and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust has been working closely with Plymouth City Council colleagues to determine the exact location and utility services required. The first patient will be seen later this year.
Cabinet Member for Finance and City Centre Champion Councillor Mark Lowry said: “Getting this application in is a huge step in the right direction. While this is a temporary solution, we are working together as a team on the longer term plans so that the West End can get the health facilities the area so desperately needs.
“Having the site cleared and making the land available has meant that the hospital can crack on with the task of providing services that people living nearby can access tests more easily. Getting a temporary unit up and running so quickly should help take the pressure off services at Derriford.”
The planning application pack for the permanent build is due to be submitted at the end of November. The procurement process for a construction partner will start shortly and the building is due to complete in Spring 2025.
