Derbyshire NHS services to benefit from £30million investment - with five new ‘one stop shops’ created including in Chesterfield and Matlock

The money will be used to create five new community diagnostic centres –described as ‘one stop shops’ – across Derby and Derbyshire.

The centres are designed to provide an easier and smoother patient experience by hosting diagnostic facilities in one place: reducing the need for patients to have procedures completed in different locations and at different time.

Joined Up Care Derbyshire has received £29.9million to fund the development of five CDCs across the region’s catchment area – albeit with one of the centres being siutated in Tamworth – by 2025.

The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire carried out the ceremonial opening of the first site on Tuesday June 27 a Whitworth Hospital in Matlock. Since its operational opening in February the centre has treated more than 7,000 patients including those requires x-rays, blood tests, and ultrasounds.

The official opening at Whitworth Hospital leads the announcement and development of Derby and Derbyshire’s additional Community Diagnostic Centres, which are expected to reach full diagnostic and clinical capacity over the next two years.

The four additional CDCs will be located as below:

• Walton Hospital, Chesterfield
• Ilkeston Community Hospital, Ilkeston
• Sir Robert Peel Community Hospital, Tamworth
• Florence Nightingale Community Hospital, Derby

Walton Hospital, as part of Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS FT, has been awarded £5.2m to develop a state-of-the-art building for the Community Diagnostic Centre.

Diagnostic services coming soon to Walton Hospital’s Community Diagnostic Centre includes an MRI scanner, ultrasound and blood tests. The CDC is expected to be fully operational by September 2024.

Mike Goodwin, workstream lead for Derby and Derbyshire CDCs, said: “The aim of Community Diagnostic Centres is to increase diagnostic capacity across our region and place services in the heart of local communities where they are more accessible to our patients.

“The Derby and Derbyshire CDC locations have been selected to help to reduce health inequalities by building upon the scope of the diagnostic facilities already in place at these community locations.

“Our CDCs offer a host of tests and treatments which will improve diagnoses and accelerate treatment for a range of conditions including heart and lung disease and cancer."