An NHS community diagnostic centre in Ipswich set to open next year has been granted an additional £13million in government funding.
Works to convert 12 Museum Street into the new facility (CDC) have been ongoing since the project received planning permission last November.
It has now been selected as one of six CDCs in the East of England to receive additional government funding to expand their services – with another new centre also set to be built in Luton.
Among the additions to the Ipswich CDC will be extra MRI, CT and ultrasound capacity.
The project is being managed by local construction consultants, Castons.
Tim Tompkins, Director of Castons, said: “We are proud to be working alongside our local NHS trust on such an important project which will deliver real benefits for patients and the wider Ipswich community.
“It is great to hear the project has now been granted additional funding, allowing the NHS to further extend the benefits of the centre and support more people in need.”
It is hoped the centre will reduce waiting times for patients and ease pressure on existing NHS facilities in the region such as Ipswich Hospital.
It will be open seven days a week, serving as many as 250 patients per day and delivering up to 90,000 scans a year.
In all, the new government funding package composes £237m nationally – almost £52m of which will be spent in the East of England.
Adam Cayley, Regional Chief Operating Officer for NHS England – East of England, said: “These new, expanded or enhanced community diagnostic centres in the East of England will make it even easier for local people to get important diagnostic tests, checks or scans closer to where they live.
“By bringing high-quality care closer to home, even more people in the region will benefit from vital checks like MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds in a convenient location at a time that suits them, supporting the NHS’s drive to bring down waiting times even further.”
