A STATE of the art diagnostic facility was officially opened in Workington today by the new chair of North Cumbria's NHS trust.
Based on Central Way, the £19million Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) provides CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds and other diagnostic services, reducing demand on the acute hospitals.
Leading a tour of the facility, the centre's manager Nick Duncan said that the CDC is something "we can all be proud of."
He said: "It's took a long time to get going but the patients really appreciate it.
Mr Duncan said that the CDC is one of 165 centres across the country which are delivering diagnostic services closer to patients' homes.
Workington's CDC is complete with consultation rooms, an echo room and state-of-the-art equipment for testing the quality of a patient's lung capacity.
Cardiac physiologist Alan Jennison told Newsquest Cumbria that the trust's waiting list for an echocardiogram was 15 weeks. "Our waiting list is six weeks now, so we're hitting the government target at the minute."
The CDC operates from 8am until 8pm every day and once fully operational, it will deliver 46,000 appointments in a financial year.
Prior to its official opening, the facility has already delivered over 30,000 appointments.
Speaking at the ribbon cutting ceremony today, new chairman of North Cumbria Integrated Care, Stephen Singleton said: "First I want to thank all of the residents who live around here, who have lived through the building and setting-up of it.
"It's really helpful to have it here and thank you to them.
"Thank you to all the staff, not just the ones who are running it now but the people who planned it, got it going and made it all happen and now we've got the staff who are making it happen for the patients day to day.
"So it gives me a lot of pleasure to officially open the diagnostic centre here in Workington."
Leader of Cumberland Council, Mark Fryer, who recently attended the CDC as a patient, praised the service and its accessibility.
He said: "The appointments outside of working hours, it's just changed the way that I operate... weekends, after 6pm, it's absolutely amazing and it's responsive to need.
"It's changed my access to health care."
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