Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has paid a visit to Oldham’s new £10m community diagnostics centre.

The Oldham Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) located in Salmon Fields, Royton opened in December and offers patients quicker access to tests, scans and checks after a referral from a GP, pharmacist or hospital.

The centre, which is expected to help more than 30,000 patients a year, is the first six in the region and one of 150 CDCs being rolled out across the country to speed up diagnosing and treating patients in community settings rather than through multiple hospital visits.

During his visit, Mr Sunak met with staff and patients at the centre.

The Prime Minister, who has pledged to cut NHS waiting lists, said: “At the beginning of the year I made five promises to the country, one of them was to cut waiting lists, and I’m here today to see this fantastic community diagnostic centre in Oldham, which is helping us do exactly that – cutting the waiting list.

“These centres bring together all the different tests, checks and scans that people need, take them out of hospitals, closer to people’s homes in the community, making it easier for them to access that treatment, and get it far quicker.

“It’s really working. It’s making a major difference in cutting waiting lists and that’s why we’re rolling out almost 150 of these across the country.”

The Oldham Times: Mr Sunak talks with patient, Riaz Ahmad Mr Sunak talks with patient, Riaz Ahmad (Image: NCA)

The development of the Oldham CDC has involved several partners, including the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA), which runs The Royal Oldham Hospital, Alliance Medical Limited, NHS England, NHS Greater Manchester, and Oldham Council.

Professor Eileen Fairhurst, chairman at the NCA said: “We are delighted to host a visit from Mr Sunak.

"He was able to see first-hand the difference that can be made by bringing our services out into the community and making them more accessible to patients and service users."

The Oldham Times: Rishi Sunak looks at a CD that is offered to patients while they have MRI scans at the centre Rishi Sunak looks at a CD that is offered to patients while they have MRI scans at the centre (Image: NCA)

Ms Fairhurst added: “Delivering rapid and early diagnosis is a priority for us and it allows patients who require treatment to start it sooner.

“We have started to see the progress being made in our Oldham CDC with recent data already showing some patients are receiving a quicker diagnosis.

“The CDC is also able to offer patients multiple tests at one location making it more convenient for patients. Having these tests at a community venue means patients don’t need to travel to busy hospital locations where appointments can sometimes be affected by urgent and emergency patients.”

Richard Evans, managing director of Alliance Medical, added: “It was extremely special to be able to welcome the Prime Minister to the Oldham CDC and highlight the great partnership work between the NHS and Alliance Medical.

“This CDC furthers our support for the government’s programme to roll out even more centres like this across the country.”

Oldham CDC is part of the Government’s £2.3 billion national investment to open up to 160 CDCs by 2025 closer to patients’ homes, helping to diagnose a range of conditions including cancer, heart, and lung disease quicker and ensuring patients are treated faster.

The new CDCs are set to provide up to nine million additional tests a year by 2025.

The Oldham CDC, which is open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm, offers x-rays, MRIs, as well as heart, lung, and blood tests to make diagnosis quicker, reduce waiting times, and cut down on hospital visits by allowing multiple tests on the same day.

A new unit at the centre is set to open later this year that will deliver endoscopy services.