New high-tech NHS centre at Westgate Retail Park to provide scans and tests

Pictured, left to right: Hester Rowell, Community Diagnostic Centre Programme Manager, Owen Mills, Architectural Assistant, Jimmy Rodger, Advanced Radiographer Practitioner, Aisha Ghias, Senior Radiographer, Harrison Smith, Radiographer, Matt Smith, Patient Service Manager, Sharon Lindsay, Clinical Support Worker, Richard Robinson, Chief Medical Officer, Ryan Howles, Site Manager, and Paul Skelland, Capital Project Manager.

Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust is set to open a new centre for diagnostic tests in Spring 2024, having secured £12.2m government funds. Wakefield Community Diagnostic Centre, based at Westgate Retail Park, will be a convenient way for patients to get the healthcare tests they need.

One of 40 new diagnostic centres across the country, the facility will provide planned outpatient tests including: x-rays, ultrasounds, CT, MRI and bone-density scans, as well as bloods, cardio-respiratory tests and some ophthalmology (eye) tests. The centre will enhance the Trust’s offer, and aspiration to provide care closer to home. Access to outpatient diagnostic tests will also remain available in existing hospital sites at Pontefract, Dewsbury and Wakefield, alongside tests and scans performed for inpatients and in emergency situations.

Westgate Retail Park was chosen as a central location, just five-minutes’ walk from the city centre, easily accessible by public transport and with free car parking, to make journeys easy for the people who will use it.

Richard Robinson, the Trust’s Chief Medical Officer, said: “Rather than travelling to hospital, patients will be able to undergo tests for a range of conditions in the heart of their local community. This will make services more accessible and convenient for patients and carers, giving a greater choice, whilst increasing the number of tests we can carry out. It is an exciting step forward in our work with GPs and other health and care partners to reduce the time it takes for patients to get a diagnosis and start receiving treatment.”

Besides its contribution to the health of our communities, the centre will create up to 50 new jobs in Wakefield, and support training into qualified, professional roles.

Community Diagnostic Centres are one of the recommendations from Professor Sir Mike Richards, the first NHS national cancer director, who conducted a review of diagnostic services as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, published in 2019.

To stay up to date with the progress of Wakefield Community Diagnostic Centre, visit: www.midyorks.nhs.uk/community-diagnostic-centre.