A NEW £9 million centre in Bradford will help doctors and consultants to diagnose life-threatening conditions more quickly.

A new state-of-the-art Community Diagnostic Centre in Eccleshill has been officially opened to provide a range of health checks, scans and tests.

In December 2023, more than 13,000 people living in Bradford District and Craven were waiting for diagnostic tests with 27 percent waiting six weeks or more.

The new diagnostic centre will help reduce waiting times, meet high demand for diagnostic testing and improve access to treatment.

The centre is the first of its kind in West Yorkshire that will provide approximately 80,000 additional diagnostic appointments each year, diagnosing conditions such as cancer and heart diseases more quickly.

Across Bradford District and Craven, the difference in life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas is up to 10 years, with many premature deaths of heart disease and cancer in some deprived areas noticeably higher.

Located in Eccleshill, the community diagnostic centre is open seven days a week and provides easier access to care for many by being closer to home and away from busy hospitals.

Professor Mel Pickup, Chief Executive at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and lead for Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership, said: “We are thrilled to introduce this community diagnostic centre to Bradford.

"The centre provides easier and quicker access to tests as well as reducing outpatient referrals and attendances at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust and Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

"It is so important that additional capacity is made available, especially to support our ambition to diagnose cancers faster, improve clinical outcomes and help save lives.

“We are redesigning the way we deliver care and support to local people in Bradford District and Craven, ensuring that more people will receive exceptional care in community settings now and into the future, keeping people healthy and out of hospital.”

Building started on the £9 million centre in June 2023 and was rapidly completed in just seven months, opening its doors to patients in January.

The centre will help meet NHS England’s elective recovery target to increase testing capacity to nine million diagnostic tests by 2025.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Healthy People and Places Portfolio lead at Bradford Council, said: “The Eccleshill Community Diagnostic Centre will provide fair and equitable care delivery across the region, acting as a convenient one-stop-shop that allows patients to receive all diagnostic tests in one visit and help cut hospital waiting lists.”

The diagnostic centre is located next to Ashcroft Surgery, Kamsons Pharmacy, Eccleshill Community Hospital and shares a building with Westcliffe Health Innovations.