Work on Workington £15m diagnostic centre under way

The centre will offer MRI, CT and ultrasound scanning for patients across north Cumbria

Work on a new £15m diagnostic health centre in Cumbria is under way.

The centre will offer MRI, CT and ultrasound scanning for patients across north Cumbria and is set to open in Workington town centre in the spring.

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) said the new unit would reduce waiting times.

A spokeswoman said the facility would provide a more "permanent solution" to the mobile units currently in use in Carlisle and Whitehaven.

The health trust said that the unit would diagnose conditions, including cancer, as early as possible and if patients needed more than one scan they would be done on the same day, reducing waiting and travelling times.

'Quicker'

Dr Louise Dodgeon, clinical director of radiology at the health trust said: "We have been working hard to recover from the big impact Covid had on our waiting lists and we are making good progress.

"By providing more diagnostics, this will help with quicker diagnosis of a range of conditions."

She added that Workington was chosen at the site for the unit because it had good public transport links.

Cumberland Council said that while the centre was being built, areas of the car park at the town's Central Station would be closed from 8 January.