New £19 million community diagnostic centre coming to West Cumbria

The foundations of the new building have been laid and it's hoped the centre will be up and running by next summer. Credit: ITV Border.

Work has begun to create a £19 million community diagnostic centre in the heart of Workington town.

The new centre is set to have MRI, CT, X-ray and ultrasound scanning facilities to help speed up diagnoses in the region.

The trust say referrals to diagnostic services in north Cumbria have doubled over the past three years which has led to longer waiting times.

The North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) has been providing temporary mobile units at the Cumberland Infirmary and West Cumberland Hospital to try and reduce waiting.

It's hoped the new Community Diagnostic centre will offer a more permanent solution to reduce travelling and waiting times for diagnoses.

Dr Madu Varma, Clinical Director of speciality medicine and consultant cardiologist, said: “We are all delighted that work has now started to build the new centre.

"By providing more diagnostics, this will help with quicker diagnoses of a range of conditions.”

“When determining the location for the Centre, we considered population demand and health needs as well as travel distance and access.

"Workington town centre is the ideal location and is accessible via public transport.

“With phase two of the redevelopment of West Cumberland Hospital due to complete this summer, this is another fantastic investment in health services in the county.”

The foundations of the new building have been laid and it's hoped the centre will be up and running by summer next year.

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