ELHT's new community diagnostic centre in Burnley sees scans increase by 194 %

Burnley CDC delivered 1,678 non-pregnancy-related ultrasounds between April 1st and July 30th - a 194% increase against their planned activity.

Radiology Directorate Manager at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT), Carol Wood said: “Community Diagnostics Centres are instrumental in ensuring patients receive their scans as quickly as possible. This, in turn, means they can be diagnosed and treated sooner, or their minds put at ease if the results are clear.

“The key to the CDCs’ success is the new state of the art equipment combined with careful planning of appointments. Different scans require different attachments to the scanners so we maximise on scanning time by grouping the same type of imaging together.”

Executive Director of Integrated Care, Partnerships and Resilience at ELHT, Tony McDonald, said: “A diagnosis of any illness can be devastating for individuals and their families. But thanks to the work of the radiology team, we have been able to provide more patients with the treatment they require more quickly, which will hopefully result in better outcomes for those receiving a diagnosis.

Tony, who is also Senior Reporting Officer for the Lancashire and South Cumbria Diagnostics Programme that has overseen the implementation of CDCs across added: “I would also like to urge patients to help us keep up this momentum by ensuring they either attend their appointment or cancel it if they are unable to attend, enabling the appointment to be offered to someone else.”