With less than six weeks to go until the new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn (QEH) opens its doors to patients, work on the building is progressing well.
Radiology staff and members of the Trust’s executive team have been taking tours of the spacious new building which will increase the number of appointments available to outpatients, helping to reduce the waiting times for people needing scans such as MRI and CT.
The spacious rooms are starting to take shape, giving patients and staff a purpose-built area housing cutting-edge technology MRI and CT scanners as well as X-ray and Ultrasound imaging used for diagnosing and monitoring of a wide range of conditions – including cancer and respiratory conditions.
With five new imaging rooms alongside dedicated areas for patient care this exciting new development on The QEH site will provide capacity for patients being referred for outpatient scans and diagnostics from GPs and other healthcare providers.
More than 40,000 outpatient appointments are expected to take place in the new centre in the first year, including early and late timeslots as well as weekend availability. This will leave the team in the main hospital building able to focus on patients with more complex and acute imaging needs, including those who are staying in hospital.
Jeff Chung, Clinical Operations Lead in Radiology at The QEH, took a look around the new facility with his colleagues. Jeff said: “It’s great to see the Community Diagnostic Centre taking shape. This new facility will make a real difference to our patients meaning we can offer more appointments to reduce the time people have to wait for their diagnostic testing – which ultimately will lead to faster treatment and better outcomes for our patients.
“From a staffing perspective, we will have access to new state of the art imaging equipment with prospects of further professional development which will make our hospital more attractive to work for.”
The CDC will open to patients at the end of September 2024 for all scans apart from MRI, which will begin later in October.
The new building is one of three such facilities being opened at the three acute hospitals in Norfolk and Waveney following the investment of £85.9 million by the Department of Health and Social Care. The James Paget University Hospitals opened their CDC in July this year and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals will open early next year.
Carly West-Burnham, Director of Strategy and Integration at The QEH, said: “This is a really exciting project for our hospital and it is great to see the new building taking shape. This will make a real difference to our patients, we are all looking forward to opening the doors very soon.”
