A new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in Oldham welcomed its first patients in December.  

The £10 million centre opened on 19 December, Salmon Fields, Royton, and is one of the country’s largest out-of-hospital diagnostic centres. More than 30,000 patients a year across the local and wider Greater Manchester area will benefit from this facility.  

The CDC is part of the Government’s £2.3 billion national investment to open up to 160 CDCs by 2025 closer to patients’ homes, helping to diagnose a range of conditions including cancer, heart and lung disease quicker and ensuring patients are treated faster. The new one-stop-shops for checks, scans and tests will provide up to 9 million additional tests a year by 2025. 

Oldham CDC will open 7 days a week, 8am to 8pm, and will provide the latest cutting edge diagnostic imaging technology, heart and lung tests and blood tests. Patients are referred to the centre by their GP or healthcare professional.  Later this year will see the opening of an additional unit at the Oldham CDC that will deliver endoscopy services.   

Barney Schofield, Director of Planning and Delivery at the Northern Care Alliance said the service will mean that people will not need to make unnecessary journeys to the hospital for a test, which will reduce waiting times and improve patient care. 

The centre offers:  

• earlier diagnoses for patients through quicker access to the full range of diagnostic tests needed to investigate patients’ symptoms; 
• greater convenience for patients, providing multiple tests at one visit, away from busy hospital sites, with free car parking and access by public transport; 
• a reduction in hospital visits which will help to reduce the risk of infection and provider greater resilience in any future pandemics; and 
• a contribution to cutting carbon emissions and air pollution, by reducing the number of unnecessary patient journeys and traffic congestion in and around hospitals.    

The development has involved a number of partners as well as the Trust, including Alliance Medical Limited, NHS England, NHS Greater Manchester and Oldham Council.