Diagnostic centre to offer patients quicker tests

Croslands Community Diagnostic Centre will contain an MRI scanning suite

A £5.8m hospital diagnostic centre is set to open this month with an aim to provide faster patient testing.

Health chiefs said Croslands Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at Furness General Hospital in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, will start seeing patients "in early August".

The unit will be equipped with an MRI scanning suite, prep and recovery areas and three clinic rooms, providing access to diagnostic tests for a range of conditions.

Chair of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Andrew Stephenson said the new service would ensure "faster, more convenient care for everyone".

"This is a huge investment at Furness General Hospital which we know will bring real benefits to the health and wellbeing of both patients and colleagues in the local area," he said.

The CDC will be run by the NHS Foundation and the Morecambe Bay Primary Care Collaborative with patients referred there by their GP.

The opening of Croslands follows the launch of similar centres at Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal and Heysham Health Centre.