Go-ahead for multi-million pound Hinckley diagnostic centre

Work on the £24.6m site is expected to be finished in early 2025

Plans for a second diagnostics hub in Leicestershire have been approved.

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) said building work on the site in Hinckley was due to start in May.

It comes after NHS England set a target to deliver 160 sites in the country where a range of conditions including cancer and heart disease can be diagnosed and monitored.

The LLR ICB says work on the £24.6m hub is due to be completed in early 2025.

The other hub in the county - at Leicester General Hospital - has been running 2021, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

This site has carried out more than 118,000 tests so far, said ICB.

The facilities - known officially as community diagnostic centres (CDCs) - can also treat illnesses like respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal diseases, and neurological conditions.

The new site will be situated at Hinckley and District Hospital, in Mount Road

The Hinckley hub, in Mount Road, will deliver MRI and CT scanning and X-rays, as well as endoscopies in a suite with private recovery rooms.

Helen Hendley, from LLR ICB, said once fully operational, the facility will provide capacity for 89,000 tests per year.

She added: "Planning permission has just been granted for a second Community Diagnostic Centre for Leicestershire, which will be built on the Hinckley and District Hospital site.

"The new CDC will bring healthcare closer to home for people in Hinckley and the surrounding areas and will support delivery towards the national diagnostic target which aims for 95% of the tests offered in the centres to be carried out within six weeks of referral by March 2025."

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said: "We know early diagnosis and treatment are vital, and by rolling out additional tests, checks and scans at 160 sites, we're improving health outcomes for millions of NHS patients across England."