A brand new imaging centre at Colchester Hospital which aims to speed up diagnosis welcomed its first patients today.
The Turner Diagnostic Centre has been built near to the hospital’s emergency department is one of the first centres of its kind in the country.
The new unit has brought all of the hospital’s diagnostic imaging services into one place to make them easier and more convenient for patients to access.
The centre houses three specialised diagnostic services – Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning, Positron Emission Tomography – Computed Tomography (PET-CT) scanning and nuclear medicine.
The work has been funded by Alliance Medical Ltd, which provides the hospital’s existing MRI and PET-CT service.
Cathy Harwood, chief nuclear medicine technician at the hospital, said: “We are delighted that work on this important new facility is now complete.
“It has brought all three of these diagnostic services into one place for the first time, making them easier and more convenient for our patients to access.
“The centre will increase the diagnostic capacity we have at Colchester, in turn allowing us to improve waiting times by seeing more patients and ensuring they receive their results quickly so that treatment can begin as early as possible.
“It will also ensure that those referred for tests can have these important scans in bright, modern and comfortable surroundings which are all located under one roof.
“The centre will open seven days a week for MRI scans giving patients more choice of appointment times to further improve the experience they have when receiving care.”
The centre will be used by patients from across north east Essex, while the PET-CT scanner will also be available to patients from the Ipswich and Chelmsford areas.
Sarah Warner, senior unit manager at Alliance Medical, said: “We are seeing a big increase in the use of diagnostic scans to help predict, diagnose and treat illnesses earlier and it’s important that everyone has access to the latest technologies.
“We have worked closely with the team at Colchester Hospital to help create this centre which will provide state-of-the-art diagnostics to their patients now and in the future.”
The centre has been developed as part of ongoing plans to transfer all clinical services from Essex County Hospital in Lexden Road to Colchester General Hospital in Turner Road by the summer.
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