It was an exciting week at Barking Community Hospital as our new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) was delivered to the site.

The facility was transported from Gloucester where it was built and craned into place after extensive work on-site in preparing the grounds.

Visiting the site this week to see the two-storey structure in place were Rhydian Phillips, National Director of Diagnostics and System Improvement; Jane Fryer, Regional Medical Director; and Francesco Sciammarella from NHS England.

They were impressed with the progress we have made and the impact the centre is going to have on our services for local residents.

Rhydian Phillips said: "It was great to see and hear about all the progress made with the CDC which is going to have a such a big impact on services across BHRUT

“For patients in the communities that they serve, it means they can get the tests and scans they need when they need it.”

They also attended King George Hospital to discuss what we are doing more widely around diagnostics as a Trust and some of the great work we are doing to tackle some of the challenges.

Reaching this milestone means we are one step closer to opening the CDC in spring 2024.

Once open, it will perform an extra 72,000 scans a year helping us to reduce waiting lists even further.

Having access to additional diagnostic and health services means residents across north east London will get their scans, treatment and the care they need faster.

The CDC will house scanning equipment such as MRI, CT, and ultrasound alongside consultation rooms for a range of other tests.

It will also have suitable waiting, changing and other public facilities, such as hearing induction loops, and landscaped outside space.