COLUMN: Taking diagnostic testing into our communities

Every year thousands of people visit our hospitals across Lincolnshire to access diagnostic testing as part of their care.

Over the past few years, we’ve been working to make accessing these tests easier and more convenient through the development of Lincolnshire’s Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) programme.

CDCs are facilities in the community, away from busy hospitals, where you can access tests such as MRI, CT and non-obstetric ultrasound scans, x-rays or blood tests.

In the last year, approximately £42m has been invested in our county to develop existing and new CDCs, increase our testing capacity and reduce waiting times for patients.

Last March, Grantham’s CDC, on Gonerby Road, underwent a £5m expansion to include state-of-the-art CT and MRI scanners.

Then, in November, a new Skegness CDC opened on Old Wainfleet Road, on the site of the former Kwiksave supermarket.

A new Lincoln CDC, which can be found on Beevor Street within Lincoln Science and Innovation Park, off Tritton Road, was the latest to open in December.

Each CDC has been designed to consider what the local community needs.

The £15m Skegness CDC has brought a number of NHS services to the town for the first time, including CT and MRI scanners, echocardiograms and NHS dental X-ray.

The £23m Lincoln facility has dedicated training facilities to support the training of future radiographers, with United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (ULTH) becoming one of the first NHS Trusts in the country to link directly with a school of radiography, through the University of Lincoln.

The CDCs in Grantham, Lincoln and Skegness all have free on-site parking and accessible facilities.

What has been particularly remarkable over the last year has been the pace at which these amazing facilities have come to life. The groundworks for Lincoln and Skegness only began in early 2024, but thanks to the use of modular buildings, both could welcome their first patients before the end of December. It’s no small feat to deliver two such projects at the same time.

We’re really proud to hear the positive feedback from those who have been in our CDCs, and we’re excited to see the difference they will make in 2025.

Visit the ULTH website to read more about CDCs in Lincolnshire.