James Wild MP has welcomed the announcement that people across Norfolk and Waveney will benefit from three new diagnostic centres backed by £85.9 million of government investment, including at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kings Lynn.
The Department of Health has now approved the new sites, which will be built over the next two years at QEH, James Paget University Hospital, and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital to deliver faster imaging and earlier diagnoses. This comes in addition to the announcement last month on the full rebuild of QEH and James Paget hospitals by 2030.
James Wild MP said:
“Early diagnosis is vital for patients to get the treatment they need and the new QEH diagnostic centre will mean people will benefit from faster tests, checks and scans for conditions including cancer and heart disease. Investing in the latest scanners and imaging equipment will help cut waiting lists and coming a month after the fantastic news that there will be a new QEH by 2030 is another boost for local healthcare.”
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay said:
“Cutting waiting lists is one of the government’s top five priorities, and these diagnostic centres will help patients to be seen more quickly.
“The facilities, backed by nearly £86 million in government investment, will use cutting-edge MRI, CT and X-ray machines to diagnose a range of conditions – including cancer, heart disease and respiratory conditions.
“Once they’re fully up and running, they will deliver over 281,000 tests, checks and scans to patients in the Norfolk region, speeding up access to vital diagnoses and ultimately saving more lives.”
Each of the new facilities will house MRI and CT scanners as well as X-ray and ultrasound imaging, used for diagnosis and monitoring of a very wide range of conditions, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory diseases, trauma, musculoskeletal diseases, neurology and COVID. To help deliver the scans, there will be more staff recruited including radiographers, radiologists and support staff.
The QEH Diagnostic Centre building will be located on the left-hand side as you enter the site, next to Emerson Unit. Work is expected to start on the building in early August.
This collaborative approach between hospitals and the wider Integrated Care System to deliver these services will:
• Increase capacity for diagnostic imaging
• Improve waiting times by separating GP referrals and outpatient appointments from inpatient and emergency demand
• Improve health outcomes with earlier diagnoses
• Improve patient and staff experience by providing modern, bright facilities and state-of-the-art equipment
• Standardise practices and collaborative working in imaging services across the three hospitals
Leading the programme for the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System (ICS), NNUH Director of Strategy and Major Projects Simon Hackwell, said:
“This is a once in a generation opportunity to invest significantly in modern scanning equipment which is essential to so many of the patients under our care. By delivering a county wide programme of this size it will allow the NHS to transform scanning services across Norfolk and Waveney. The result of which will help us see patients more quickly, meaning faster diagnosis and therefore faster treatment and improved outcomes.”
Chair of the Norfolk and Waveney Health and Care Partnership, Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt, said:
“I am delighted to see this investment being used to significantly increase our imaging capacity adjacent to our hospital sites across Norfolk and Waveney.
“It’s vital we do all we can to see and treat people as efficiently as possible; this will no doubt help us to diagnose people more quickly. We are determined to help people lead longer, healthier and happier lives.”
The machines and facilities planned for each site include:
- QEH – 1 MRI, 1 CT, 2 Ultrasound and 1 X-ray room
- JPUH – 1 MRI, 1 CT, 2 Ultrasound and 1 X-ray room
- NNUH – 5 MRI, 4 CT, 2 Ultrasound and 2 X-ray rooms
The project is in response to a significant increase in demand for imaging.
The project addresses recommendations in a national report from eminent Oncologist Professor Sir Mike Richards, who recommended that diagnostic centres should provide imaging capacity outside of the acute hospital building to support patients and healthcare staff in the diagnosis of disease and with a view to reducing waiting lists.
Building work will start in Summer 2023. The QEH Diagnostic Centre and the JPUH buildings are planned to be operational in Summer 2024 and NNUH Diagnostic Centre building will be operational early in 2025.
The Diagnostic Centre buildings are part of the estates strategy within the development of each New Hospital Programme at JPUH and QEH.
