Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board, are delighted to announce that the first patients are now being welcomed at the new Bodmin Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC).
The new CDC is located on the Bodmin Community Hospital site and will deliver a range of diagnostic services, including CT and MRI scans. It is home to only the fifth CT scanner in Cornwall and the first east of Truro.
The diagnostic strategy is to have community diagnostic centres located away from acute hospital sites. The new CDC is easily accessible to the people of mid, north and east Cornwall, helping to deliver more care closer to home.
The aim is to get the right patients to the right test in the right location, with the fewest number of visits and referrals, as quickly as possible.
In May 2022 there were over 58,000 people on a waiting list in our system. The centre will contribute to an overall reduction in waiting times, elective recovery and referral to treatment targets.
When fully operational, the centre will deliver an additional 120,000 diagnostic tests per year.
Scott Mann MP for North Cornwall said:
“I am very pleased to see Bodmin’s Community Diagnostic Centre open. This is one of forty such sites across the country, and I’m very happy that we now have one in North Cornwall.
“Since I was first elected in 2015, I have worked hard to bring world-class NHS services closer to home, and this enhanced service at Bodmin helps to bring this aspiration to reality.
“I would also like to thank all the stakeholders who were involved in delivering this project on time and within budget. Local people will no longer have to travel long distances for MRI, CT and Ultrasound scans and it's brilliant to see that Bodmin is becoming a health hub for the North and East of Cornwall."
Emma Spouse, RCHT Diagnostic Imaging Lead, said:
"RCHT Clinical Imaging are delighted to be providing additional diagnostic imaging services for the local population around Bodmin, including CT, MRI and ultrasound scans from the new Bodmin Community Diagnostic Centre. It will make a real difference for patients to have accessible CT and MRI services in their locality.
"The Bodmin CDC provides a calm, outpatient scanning environment that also alleviates our hard-pressed acute and emergency diagnostic imaging services on the Royal Cornwall Hospital site at Treliske in Truro. Digital technology and connectivity ensures that expert advice and opinion is immediately available to the Bodmin CDC clinical staff, supporting our services on this site to meet exemplary standards.
"Our thanks go to Professor Sir Mike Richards for his national vision to provide more diagnostic services in local communities where people live, to NHS England for funding this excellent new facility, including the top of the range digital x-ray equipment and a new CT scanner, and to the Estates team at Cornwall Partnership Trust who have worked tirelessly with the sub-contractors, our clinical teams and the equipment providers, GE and Philips, to transform the old Bodmin Treatment Centre into a clinical hub that focusses on rapid diagnostics and onward treatment. It is a fantastic new facility for patients and for the staff who work here".
Other benefits of the Bodmin Community Diagnostic Centre include a reduction in travel time and costs, as the CDC offers free parking, as well as the creation of local jobs.
Margaret Schwarz, Chair of Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said:
"Not only am I delighted to see this facility open, I am delighted as a resident of North Cornwall that my fellow residents will not have to travel down the A30 to Truro for their diagnostics. It is fantastic to have this facility available closer to where people live".
Background Information:
The Bodmin Community Diagnostic Centre is a system-wide project. The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) is responsible for the delivery of services at the centre, while Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for the redevelopment and management of the building. Early adopter community diagnostic centre funding for 2021 to 2022 was secured by NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board from NHS England. The building is owned by NHS Property Services.
Work on the centre will be completed in three phases.
Phase 1: This phase, using early adopter funding, focuses on the ground floor and includes CT, X-ray, ultrasound and two hard standings capable of hosting hospital two mobile imaging trucks of any modality; this phase is now up and running.
Phase 2: This will see the creation of the urgent care centre. The minor injury unit and its staff will relocate onto the ground floor in early 2023.
Phase 3: This involves the second floor being turned into a multi-use clinical space to fulfil the outstanding community diagnostic facilities. It is planned for September 2023.
The implementation of the CDC will support the achievement of national diagnostic targets for waiting times.
The CDC will relieve pressure on the Royal Cornwall, University Hospitals Plymouth and North Devon and Exeter trusts from an urgent care, patient choice and mutual aid perspective.
This is aligned with the emergency care strategies for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and will help address health inequalities and inequitable access to services.