A DIAGNOSTIC centre that can fast-track thousands of patients a year has opened at Ealing Hospital.
The £30m Ealing Community Diagnostic Centre (ECDC) will help ease pressure on existing hospital services.
It should also reduce waiting times and offers a range of diagnostic services including CT, MRI and ultrasound scans.
It is the third and largest CDC to open in North-West London - the other two are in Willesden and Wembley - and will serve communities in Hanwell, Southall and Greenford, as well as supporting Brent and Harrow.
GPs can make direct referrals to the centre, offering a faster and more convenient service to patients, as well as reducing unnecessary hospital visits.
The first patient to use ECDC was Janice Benfield, who said it was wonderful to have the service available so close to home.
ECDC is one of a network of centres across the UK to address the backlog of patients that built up during the pandemic.
It will focus on four ‘priority pathways’ by checking on symptoms including asthma, breathlessness, back and chest pain.
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