Proposals for a new health facility in Hull have been backed with an extra £2 million pounds
The funding comes from the City Council
Last updated 21st Dec 2023
Proposals for a new facility designed to cut waiting times by offering a range of NHS services outside hospitals have been backed with extra funding.
Hull City Council’s Cabinet has approved putting £2m towards the proposed Community Diagnostics Centre (CDC) in Albion Square.
Council Health Portfolio Holder Cllr Linda Chambers said she was pleased the plans had been backed and looks forward to seeing them progress in the new year.
The Cabinet decision made this week (Monday, December 18) brings the total amount of funding for the project to £18m.
A total of £14m is sent to be spent on building costs with the rest spent on clinical equipment.
The CDC would have the capacity to do 199,000 tests a year, according to Government estimates.
Services on offer would include x-rays, MRI scans and tests and checks for a number of conditions including those affecting breathing and lungs and strokes.
If a forthcoming planning application is approved then works would begin next year and the centre would open in 2025.
The Hull CDC was one of eight announced by the Department for Health and Social Care following the opening of 108 in university campuses, shopping centres and elsewhere since 2021.
GPs are able to refer patients to CDCs, avoiding the need for a hospital visit.
CDCs were launched in part to help ease pressure on hospitals after the coronavirus pandemic fuelled backlogs of people waiting for treatment.
A total of 71,574 people were on the waiting list for treatment and procedures with Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust as of September, according to the NHS figures.
The number of those waiting longer than the 18-week NHS target time for treatment was 28,848, with 3,101 waiting a year or more.
Cllr Chambers said the project was exciting.
The portfolio holder said: “It is pleasing that Cabinet were able to approve plans for a community diagnostic centre at Albion Square.
“This will bring easily accessible healthcare to our residents.”
Erica Daley, of the local NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB), said the centre would help speed up the detection of serious illnesses, allowing people to be treated sooner.
Ms Daley said: “The aim of the CDC is to identify any health problems early and improve outcomes for patients with conditions including cancer, stroke, heart disease and respiratory conditions, as well as reduce waiting times and pressures on acute hospital sites.”
“Together with other Community Diagnostic Schemes across Humber and North Yorkshire, this represents an £80m capital investment and, once fully up and running, will mean there’s extra capacity for around 900,000 additional diagnostic procedures a year.”