A single point of access to an array of services in the community. A new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) is planned being built within the Willowbrook Health Complex in Corby.
The Corby Community Diagnostic Centre belongs to a wider government plan to help tackle diagnostics waiting time backlogs and speed-up vital care for local patients. More information can be found on the government website.
The Community Diagnostic Centres in Northamptonshire will be run by the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group, and the NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board will oversee the work. There are two community Diagnostic Centres, one in Corby and one in the Kings Heath area of Northampton. The Kings Heath Community Diagnostic Centre opened in November 2024 and the Corby Community Diagnostic Centre is expected to open in 2025.
A Community Diagnostic Centre is not a walk-in centre, it is a ‘one stop shop’. To give a co-ordinated approach for planned diagnostics. Access is through GP referrals, screening programme and outpatient appointments.
The proposed facility will benefit thousands of local people needing diagnostics tests for MRI, CT, Ultrasound and Echocardiogram.
The Community Diagnostic Centre will also include:
- Diagnostic imaging for MRI, CT, Ultrasound and Echocardiogram
- Consult examination and assessment rooms
- Welcoming reception and waiting area
- Sufficient parking for patients and staff
The aims of the Community Diagnostic Centre are:
- Improve population health outcomes by earlier diagnoses of significant health conditions
- To increase diagnostic capacity in terms of workforce, facilities, and equipment
- To improve productivity and efficiency of diagnostic activity
- To deliver a better, more personalised diagnostic experience
- To contribute to reducing health inequalities.
You can watch how the build is progressing below: