Patients benefit from new Community Diagnostic Centre

Patients in Medway and Swale are benefiting from quicker and easier access to a range of vital tests and scans with the launch of a new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC).

In Medway and Swale, patients will have access to two centres, with the first – located at Rochester Healthy Living Centre on Delce Road – having opened in August 2023 on a phased basis. The first phase will allow patients to access a range of ultrasound scans, as well as respiratory and cardiology services such as echocardiograms, electrocardiograms (ECGs) and sleep studies. Patients will be invited to attend their diagnostic appointment by letter or phone call.

The second phase at the Rochester CDC, due to launch in early 2024, will include Computerised Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans.

Patient Kazi Ahmed arrives at his local Community Diagnostic Centre in Rochester

One of the first people to be cared for at the new site in Rochester was local patient Kazi Ahmed, who attended his appointment for an echocardiogram with his son Wasim Ahmed.

Wasim explained how easy it was to bring his father to the CDC site in Rochester, instead of visiting a larger acute hospital site, where an appointment like this would have been previously held.

Wasim said: “It was really easy to come here; we live just around the corner so it was only a five-minute drive. There is plenty of parking and no queues – we found it a lot less stressful than visiting a bigger hospital site. I work full-time, remotely from home, so I was able to drive my dad here on my lunchbreak, rather than having to book time off work.

“I think having centres like this will be very important for patients like my dad who live in the community, particularly those that are close to the sites.”

Elsewhere, work is continuing to develop the CDC at Sheppey Community Hospital in Minster. Services at both Rochester and Sheppey are being introduced over the next two years and by 2025, will be available up to seven days a week, for up to 12 hours a day, according to demand.

The services within the CDCs will be provided by staff from Medway NHS Foundation Trust. Urgent scans or tests required as a result of emergency attendances or admissions to hospital will continue to take place in hospital, along with some routine tests.

Jayne Black, Chief Executive of Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I am very pleased to see patients benefiting from a range of vital tests at the Rochester CDC, with services in Sheppey due to be launched next year.

“The NHS across Kent and Medway is committed to providing the best possible care for the populations we serve – this is further good news which will allow us to deliver a better and more personalised diagnostic experience for patients by providing a single point of access to a range of diagnostic services in the local community.”

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