People living in Barnsley will be able to access more health tests and checks at the state-of-the-art NHS Community Diagnostic Centre in The Glass Works thanks to further £ 4.6 million NHS funding.
The funding will allow an extra eight test, check and scan services to be offered in the convenient central location in Barnsley town centre.
The continued expansion of the centre will help with pressures on existing hospital and GP services and mean more people can be seen sooner. This is part of NHS plans to reduce waiting times for routine procedures and help diagnose life-threatening conditions such as cancer earlier.
Work has already begun to prepare the centre as it takes over the neighbouring unit. By autumn 2023 people will be able to have CT and MRI scans, aneurysm screening, bladder function tests, retinal eye screening, ECG scans which can check your heart’s rhythm and electrical activity and specialist lung function tests at the newly expanded centre.
The investment will go towards extra equipment as well as making the unit suitable for these types of healthcare services.
The centre already offers breast screening, bone density scans, phlebotomy, ultrasound and x-ray imaging. Since the centre opened its doors staff working at the facility have provided over 40,000 checks and scans. Feedback from those attending has been positive with the majority of people saying that their overall experience has been excellent or very good.
New signage to help people locate the site easier has recently been added as well as frosting to the windows to make the waiting area feel more private.
Bob Kirton, Deputy Chief Officer at Barnsley Hospital said: “This additional investment is great news for Barnsley. The community diagnostic centre represents a significant advance in how we deliver diagnostic services for the people of Barnsley. We worked very closely with our health and care partners to develop services that both improve the experience of our patients and reduce wait times. We’ve had a fantastic response so far from the public and our staff really like working there.”
Gavin Boyle, Chief Executive at NHS South Yorkshire, said: “We are working hard across South Yorkshire to reduce the time that our patients are waiting for operations and treatments. The one-stop test, check and scan centres like this fantastic town centre facility in Barnsley will give people better and faster access to get checked out and into treatment or help them manage long-term conditions.
“I’m delighted to see people have had really positive things to say about their experience of using the services so far - it means they’re more likely to tell their friends and family and hopefully encourage them to go for things like screening when they’re invited. By working together across our health and care system we can continue to drive forward improvements, such as this new centre, to provide the best possible experience of healthcare and ensure our local people have access to services they need to live well.”
The Glass Works is Barnsley’s new shopping and leisure destination, located in the heart of the town centre. Combining a fantastic range of stores, bars, restaurants and leisure venues, as well as a 475-space car park and excellent access from Barnsley Interchange, The Glass Works is an easy and convenient location for the important services provided by the Community Diagnostics Centre. As well as the NHS centre, there are options of national chains and local independents including Starbucks, Cineworld, Nando’s, 200 Degrees, Next, Coffee Boy, The Botanist, the historic Barnsley Market and more.