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 more than 58,000 people on a waiting list in the system.

They hope 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.

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, added: "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."