New diagnostics unit set to reduce waiting times

All of Norfolk's main hospitals will get a diagnostic centre in a bid to reduce waiting times and take pressure off radiology departments

A new hospital diagnostics unit is expected to provide thousands more appointments when it opens its doors at the end of September.

The new Community Diagnostics Centre (CDC) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, will take on all the planned MRI, CT, ultrasound and X-ray scans.

All three of Norfolk's major hospitals are getting a CDC after the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) agreed to pay £85m to build them.

It is the biggest investment in NHS services in the region for 20 years.

The state-of-the-art building stands in stark contrast to the crumbling hospital site, the rebuild of which is under review by the new Labour government.

A spokesperson for the DHSC said hospitals found to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) would be "the priority".

Alan Williams, clinical operations manager in radiology, in the x-ray room which is one of 5 new treatment rooms in the facility

Clinicians say the new CDC will allow them to see more than 100 patients a day, separating planned and emergency work.

Alan Williams, clinical operations manager in radiology, says his team are eager to start using the new equipment.

"It's like a new iPhone," he said.

"As soon as you've brought it there is something to supersede it.

"This equipment is far better than the things we've got in the department at the moment."

The CDC unit at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston is already up and running and the facility at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital will open early next year.

Staff at the Queen Elizabeth said it would take time for the CDC to reach full capacity but that it would speed up scan waiting times - leading to faster diagnosis and treatment.

Carly West-Burnham, the hospital's director of strategy, says there will be more capacity - so shorter waiting times for patients

Carly West-Burnham is the hospital's director of strategy.

"For us this is part of our journey to a new hospital," she said.

"This will form part of the really important outpatients area."

She says they were still planning for a new hospital to be built on site by 2030.

"We're obviously cognisant of the national work that's ongoing with the new government in place, but from our perspective we continue and we are pushing to make sure we have a solution in place for 2030."

'Crumbling hospital estate'

A DHSC spokesperson said the previous government's commitment to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 was "undeliverable and unaffordable".

"We must reset the New Hospital Programme to put it on a sustainable footing but no decisions have yet been made on the scale," the spokesperson said.

"We have launched a full review of the programme to provide a thorough, costed and realistic timeline for delivery and to ensure we can replace the crumbling hospital estate in England."