A new £10 million community diagnostics centre in Oldham is set to welcome its first patients tomorrow.

Oldham Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) located in Salmon Fields, Royton is opening on Monday (December 19) and is expected to help more than 30,000 patients a year.

The one-stop-shop for checks, scans, and tests, is one of the first six in the region and one of the country’s largest out-of-hospital diagnostic centres.

The centre, which will be open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm, is set to offer 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.

Barney Schofield, director of planning and delivery for NCA, which runs hospital and community services in Oldham as well as Bury, Rochdale and Salford, said: “This new centre will be a tremendous asset for the people of Oldham and well beyond, helping us to achieve our ambitions of saving lives and improving lives.

“Too many people wait too long for tests and have to unnecessarily come to a hospital site for a test. The new centre will help us to make great improvements to our patient care.”

Oldham Council leader Cllr Amanda Chadderton visited the new centre on Wednesday ahead of its official opening.

The Oldham Times: Cllr Chadderton outside Oldham CDC Cllr Chadderton outside Oldham CDC (Image: Cllr Chadderton)

Following her visit, she published a lengthy post on social media that reads: “Everybody is aware of the pressures facing the NHS and the wait times for many things, including scans.

“This centre will help alleviate that pressure, stop our residents having to travel to the centre of Manchester or further for scans, be able to diagnose cancer or disease quicker and allow people to start treatment earlier.”

In a later statement, she added: "We are proud to have worked alongside Northern Care Alliance on this important centre which will play a huge role in our local community.

“It will bring a first-class health facility to Oldham – giving people across the region convenient access to care with earlier diagnosis and shorter waiting times.

“The site is flexible to accommodate the future expansion of services and will help to create a wide range of quality jobs and training opportunities. It’s a win-win for all involved.”

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.

Patients will be referred to Oldham CDC by their GP or healthcare professional.

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