Patients, local people and staff are set to benefit from a new £5.8million Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) which is under construction on land at Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow and set to open in 2025.
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) is building the Croslands Community Diagnostic Centre and it will be run by UHMBT and the Morecambe Bay Primary Care Collaborative.
The aim is to ensure that patients who need diagnostic tests are seen sooner and in a vastly improved environment. It will add to the number of diagnostic tests available, making it quicker and easier for patients to access potentially life-saving tests for a wide range of conditions including cancer. Patients will be referred to the Croslands CDC by their GP.
The Croslands CDC has been supported by National CDC funding to improve and increase diagnostic services at FGH. UHMBT has also recently opened CDCs at Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal and Heysham Health Centre with national CDC funding.
The Barrow CDC is located to the rear of the Croslands building on the FGH site and will have an MRI Scanning Suite along with support services including a Prep Area, Recovery Area, Patient Change, Control Room, Reception and Waiting Area, as well as three clinic rooms – making it a ‘one stop shop’.
Joanne Park, Head of the Radiology Department at Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow, and a Radiographer specialising in Nuclear Medicine in the NHS for more than 30 years, is one of the leaders of the new development.
Joanne said: “This is a really exciting opportunity and development for our service which will benefit our patients. It will be a huge improvement for our patients because there will be a much nicer environment. Patients will be able to come directly into the new centre and they won’t have to wait in the Outpatients Reception or go to different areas of the hospital for tests.
“Our Capital Services Team is doing a great job of building the new centre. We are very excited to be setting up this valuable service in Barrow.”
The Capital Services Team is leading a multidisciplinary team of architects, builders and engineers to have the project completed in time and within budget.
Joanne added: “We welcome this major and well deserved investment at FGH which will bring crucial tests closer to home and will help us to improve outcomes for patients with serious conditions, ultimately sparing more patients and families the pain and trauma of disease. Patients and staff will benefit as the centre will have a more modern and attractive environment as well as the latest technology.”