A new £10 million community diagnostics centre in Oldham has officially opened its doors to patients.

Oldham Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) located in Salmon Fields, Royton opened on Monday (December 19) and is set to tackle waiting lists and Covid backlogs by helping more than 30,000 patients a year.

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

Commenting on the new centre, Richard Evans, Alliance Medical UK managing director, said: “It will not only deliver much needed additional capacity for patients in the community but also allows us to include much needed PET-CT scanning capacity to increase our ability to scan and detect cancers and also scan for other diseases such as Alzheimer’s.”

The Oldham CDC is a one-stop-shop for checks, scans, and tests.

It is one of the first six in the region and one of the country’s largest out-of-hospital diagnostic centres.

The Oldham Times: The reception at the Oldham Community Diagnostic Centre The reception at the Oldham Community Diagnostic Centre (Image: NCA)

Minister of State for Health Will Quince said: “We’re delivering millions of extra life-saving tests, checks and scans in the heart of communities with centres like Oldham’s, which is backed by nearly £10 million of government funding, so patients across Manchester can get quicker diagnoses close to home.

“The new facility in Oldham will be one of the country’s largest out-of-hospital diagnostic centres and will include cardiac and blood tests as well as x-rays and MRI which will serve over 30,000 patients every year across the region.

“We are relentlessly focussed on tackling waiting lists and busting the Covid backlogs including rolling out up to 160 of these one-stop-shops right across the country, backed by £2.3 billion".

The centre, 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.

In a statement, Oldham Council leader, Amanda Chadderton said: "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.”

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.