Demolition will begin this week at a site in Peterborough City Centre, to make way for a new Community Diagnostic Centre.

The demolition will be complete within three weeks and the site will remain under wraps to prevent dust and noise disturbance.

The new facility will be used to further improve the delivery of diagnostic testing and reduce patient waiting times for clinical investigation. It will be staffed and run by North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs Peterborough City Hospital.  

The centre will offer CT, MRI and DEXA scanning, as well as phlebotomy services and a direct link to the pathology services that are run at Peterborough City Hospital.

Chief Executive Hannah Coffey said: "The Community Diagnostic Centre is of huge benefit to our local communities. We know that waiting times for tests to help diagnose a condition are longer than we want them to be, and this can create additional anguish as well as a delay in treatment. The CDC will help us reduce waiting times and give patients a better experience, ensuring they receive results quicker. We are very excited to see this project evolve.”  

Dr Gary Howsam, chief clinical improvement officer at NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, said: “We are delighted that work is about to start on the new Community Diagnostic Centre in Peterborough. Once open, the centre will provide local people with the opportunity to access much-needed diagnostic tests closer to home, giving them more choice about where and when they have their tests.”