Centre will ‘greatly benefit community’
Slough: Plans for £25m NHS diagnostic centre are approved
An NHS trust boss has said a new £25million diagnostic centre in Slough ‘will greatly benefit the community’ after plans were approved last week.
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust was given the green light to commence work by Slough Borough Council and the final business case has been approved by the trust’s Board, both subject to conditions.
The Community Diagnostic Centre is planned to open in Slough in early 2025 and will ‘transform health services in the area’ with faster and easier diagnostic services for residents.
Chief Strategy Officer James Clarke, who is leading the project on behalf of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This centre will greatly benefit the community by offering convenient access to diagnostic tests, reducing hospital visits and enabling early detection and treatment of serious illnesses.
“Its services will enhance local health and support our longer-term strategy of reducing pressure and improving services at our main hospitals.”
The centre will be open seven days a week, 12 hours a day, and will provide up to 150,000 extra tests per year for the community.
It will have access to MRI scanners, CT scanners and ultrasounds, and will diagnose and improve outcomes for patients with cancer and heart disease.
The trust says the centre will also:
■ Help to reduce health inequalities by locating the CDC in central Slough for communities who have poorer health outcomes to easily access high-quality diagnostic tests.
■ Help people avoid unnecessary hospital visits by increasing diagnostic capacity outside of acute hospitals means that they can focus on delivering urgent and emergency care more quickly.
■ Be easily accessible by public transport, minimising inconvenience for patients and reducing air pollution caused by travel.
The centre is being developed on an unused and recently demolished area of the Upton Hospital site as a standalone facility and is part of a network of facilities across the country.
Leader of Slough Borough Council Councillor Smith said: “I welcome the approval of the Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at Upton Hospital. The health inequalities in Slough are well documented, and I am confident that the proposed CDC will have a positive impact in contributing to reducing the health inequalities in the town; improving overall health outcomes and delivering a better, more personalised, diagnostic experience for patients.”