New Community Diagnostic centre sees more that 13,000 patients since opening

The county’s first Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) has welcomed more than 13,000 patients for diagnostic testing since it opened, including the first patient to use its new MRI scanner.

The CDC, based at Hollinswood House in Telford, currently offers appointments for pathology (blood tests) and radiology, providing extra capacity for non-urgent diagnostic testing.

Its location in the community means that patients do not need to travel to a busy hospital site to access their care.

Around £10.5 million of national funding was awarded for the conversion of Hollinswood House to create the CDC, the first in the county. Services are provided by The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal Hospitals.

Since opening in October 2023 the Phlebotomy team has processed more than 65,000 blood tests and the Radiology department, which includes the new MRI scanner, CT, ultrasound and X-ray, has so far seen over 4,500 patients.

There are plans to extend appointments in the Radiology Department to seven days a week this year to further improve patient access to tests.

The state-of-the-art MRI scanner was installed on site at Hollinswood House in December 2023 and means patients have faster access to diagnostic MRIs.

Kim Pritchard was delighted to be the first patient to have an MRI scan. She attended with her sister June, who also had an MRI appointment booked for the same day.

Kim said: “The staff were so helpful and talked me through the whole process which calmed my nerves as I didn’t know what to expect. I only live around 10 minutes away and it was so easy to get here. It is great to have this facility on our doorstep.”

Dr John Jones, Executive Medical Director at SaTH, said “The purpose-built CDC provides the community with quicker access to tests and scans without the need to visit the hospital. The addition of the MRI scanner will lead to a faster diagnosis and will relieve the pressure on our hospitals.”