New Denton health centre to improve wait times for scans is given the go-ahead

A new health centre, which will improve wait times for patients getting scans is coming to Denton’s shopping park following council approval for the plans.

Based at Crown Point North Shopping Park, the new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) will provide MR, CT, Dexa and ECHO scans. Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, who put plans for this together alongside Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care Services NHS Foundation Trust, believe this will see diagnosis and treatment of a range of conditions including cancer and heart disease speed up.

Day to day operations of the centre will be run by InHealth and it is set to open officially later this year.

The centre will be housed within the old O2 phone shop and TUI travel store at the shopping centre after both units have been amalgamated. It will have a front facing reception and waiting area, and numerous consulting and examination rooms.

With funding provided by NHS England, thousands of people will be able to visit it every year to get a wide range of diagnostic tests in one central place, away from a busy hospital site. The services will be for the use of the populations across Stockport, Tameside, Glossop and the High Peak.

The South East Manchester CDC will be the second of its kind in Greater Manchester to be located in a retail location, situated at Crown Point in Denton. It will offer high tech scanning, heart tests and other diagnostic services, helping to detect a range of conditions quicker, ensuring patients can then be treated faster. Patients will be able to access the services via a clinician referral.

Karen James OBE, chief executive for both Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “It’s great to see building work starting on our new Community Diagnostic Centre which will ensure more checks, tests and scans are available sooner for people in both Tameside and Stockport. This will be a fantastic new resource for local people, helping them to get the diagnosis and care they need as soon as possible.” 

Geoff Searle, InHealth chief executive, added: “We're incredibly pleased to be working in partnership with our NHS partners in the North West to create this new centre, which signifies another step forward in providing additional capacity, improving health outcomes and increasing the range, scale and accessibility of services for the local population of Greater Manchester.

“InHealth has been working in partnership with the NHS for more than 30 years, with more than 15 existing Community Diagnostic Centres in England, so we’re delighted to be expanding this model across the country”.

The new medical site will provide investment in the area and the creation of around 25-30 jobs in a range of roles. Approximately 15 employees will work onsite every day, planning papers confirmed.