A £25 million NHS diagnostic centre is planned to open next year in Slough, Berkshire.

The community diagnostic centre (CDC) will be developed on an unused area of the Upton Hospital site as a standalone facility.

Sangeeta Saran, director of operations at Slough NHS Frimley said: “The new centre will play a vital role in enabling us to meet local people’s needs in the future and, crucially, mean they spend as little time as possible waiting for the diagnoses they need.”

It follows national investment and is part of a network of facilities across the country to improve access to diagnostic tests and scans.

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust said it will be open seven days a week, for 12 hours each day.

The new centre will have MRI, CT and ultrasound scanners that will improve outcomes for patients with conditions including cancer and heart disease, the trust said.
 

The centre aims to improve people’s health outcomes – by enabling more people to access diagnostic tests more quickly, easily and closer to their home, leading to earlier diagnoses of symptoms and better, more timely treatment.

As well as this, the trust said it will aim to reduce health inequalities, help people avoid unnecessary hospital visits and make the centre easily accessible by public transport.

It will be accessible for all patients, and will be a five-minute walk from a bus stop and 10 from Slough railway station.