Additional audiology services will be provided, plus a base for the Community Dental Service
North Lincolnshire Councillors Judith Matthews and Janet Lee are taken on a tour of the Scunthorpe Community Diagnostic Centre by the clinical team(Image: Humber Health Partnership)
Services on offer at Scunthorpe Community Diagnostic Centre are being expanded. Humber Health Partnership is launching new additional audiology clinics, as well as providing a new home for its Community Dental Service.
The announcement was made as councillors from North Lincolnshire Council arrived at the centre for a guided tour. They heard that between April and November last year, 32,493 people had been welcomed to the £22m Lindum Street centre.
Situated in the heart of Scunthorpe, close to public transport links, shops, cafes and parking in the nearby multi-storey car park, the centre already offers a range of tests, including:
Cardio-respiratoryBlood testsX-rayNon-obstetric ultrasoundCT scans
The team is keen to increase the footfall at the centre further, especially when the new services come online next month. Vicki Quinn, senior general manager for head and neck, said: “This is a really exciting time.
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“We’re expanding the audiology service which we offer in Scunthorpe, by putting on additional diagnostic clinics in the CDC. We’ve recruited an additional audiologist to run the service and, while initially we will be offering appointments from Monday to Friday, 8am to 5.30pm, we’re hoping to build on this once the service is embedded, offering appointments 12 hours a day, seven days a week.”
She added: “While the Community Dental Service isn’t a diagnostic service, we were delighted to be able to take advantage of some available space within the building to house the team, who used to be based at Ashby. This means we can now see patients in two locations, at the CDC and at the Ironstone Centre, helping us to see you more quickly.”
Leah Stabler is the general manager for the partnership’s Community Diagnostic Centres. She said: “This is a really fantastic community asset which will help us to diagnose patients with a wide range of conditions.
“It’s great that we have been able to see so many patients already – and the feedback we have had has been fantastic – and we still have the capacity to see many more. While it’s not a drop-in centre and you do need a GP referral to under-go a diagnostic test here, I don’t think it is widely known that you can request that you are referred here rather than to the hospital or another clinic.
“We can offer appointments to patients over the age of 18, who are able to stand independently or get on and off examination couches without the use of a hoist. We can often see you more quickly – even on the same day for some patients – and we can also offer appointments in the evening or at weekends for some services.
“We’ve recently carried out a patient survey. Lots of patients said they had been very impressed with how quickly they were able to get an appointment and that they were often able to arrive, have their tests and be able to get on with their day within as little as 15 minutes.
“Patients also told us that they love the bright and airy feel of the building, not having to pay high parking costs or drive around the hospital site looking for a space and the flexibility we offer, with evening and weekend appointments available.” Councillors Judith Matthews and Janet Lee were both impressed with the facilities on offer, remarking that the setting felt modern, spacious and relaxing for both patients and staff.