Redruth brewery site to be NHS diagnostic centre in Cornwall

The site in Redruth will be one of five new community diagnostic centres being created in the south west, and will provide a range of different tests during a single visit.

These will include CT and MRI scans, ultrasound scans, x-rays and endoscopy. When fully operational, the centre will deliver an extra 74,000 diagnostic tests per year.

It will be built at the former brewery site on Foundry Row in Redruth, to make it easily accessible to the people of Redruth, Pool, Camborne, and the surrounding areas.

NHS Cornwall said the aim was to get patients to the right test in the right location as quickly as possible, with the fewest number of visits and referrals, without having to go onto acute hospital sites.

This would allow the region's main hospitals to focus more on complex cases and urgent and emergency care, which should mean a lower chance of patients' appointments being postponed at times of high demand.

The centre will be at the site of the old brewery in Foundry Road, Redruth (Image: NHS Cornwall)

Chris Reid, chief medical officer for NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB), said: "We are excited to press ahead with another new community diagnostic centre for Cornwall (CDC), that will be easily accessible to the people of Camborne, Pool, Redruth, and the surrounding areas.

"The CDC on Foundry Row in Redruth will contribute to an overall reduction in waiting times, elective recovery and referral to treatment targets, as our NHS focuses on its core priority of delivering more care closer to home”.

InHealth will provide the diagnostic testing and services after being appointed the preferred bidder for the project.

Who are InHealth?

This is what InHealth says about its business: "InHealth is the UK's largest specialist provider of diagnostic solutions. Our mission is to make healthcare better and we do this by working with hospitals and commissioners across the NHS and independent sector.

"With over 30 years' experience, our flexible and dynamic approach is helping to meet some of health's most pressing challenges – reducing waiting times, speeding up diagnoses, saving money and improving the overall patient experience.

"InHealth provide tests, scans and examinations for more than 4 million patients a year across the UK".

Cornwall already has two community diagnostic centres, in Bodmin and at the West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance.

Bristol, Weston-Super-Mare, Torbay and Yeovil will also be getting new centres, and the aim is for all sites to be operational in 2024.