Go ahead on extending Walton Hospital’s diagnostic facilities just weeks after first opening!
The recently opened £5.2 million Community Diagnostic Centre at Walton Hospital, Chesterfield, has been granted an additional £7.5 million to enhance imaging facilities still further – just weeks after first opening its doors!
This additional investment from NHS England is being utilised to upgrade facilities for MRI and CT scanning, bringing them into a new extension to the building rather than being housed in mobile vans beside the diagnostic centre.
The additional funding is also being spent on creating a dedicated paediatric audiology room and on introducing DEXA scanning which helps diagnose conditions like osteoporosis and assess fracture risks.
The community diagnostic centre is a development between Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Walton Hospital, and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, whose diagnostic experts are running and staffing the diagnostic facilities.
Actiform, the main construction partner who built phase 1 of the community diagnostic centre at Walton Hospital, have remained on site to develop the phase 2 extension to bring all these enhanced diagnostic facilities into action within months, with a planned opening of the additional services in Spring 2026.
Jim Austin, chief executive of Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It was only in September that we celebrated the opening of phase 1 of the community diagnostic centre and the difference that is already making to local patients in being able to access a whole range of diagnostic testing more easily.
“It is a real vote of confidence in the success of community diagnostic facilities that this additional funding has been granted to enable us to extend the building and increase the scope and complexity of the scans carried out at Walton Hospital. It is very good news for patients.”
Michelle Veitch, chief operating officer at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, added: “This additional investment is a testament to the strength of our partnership and the shared commitment to improving patient outcomes across Derbyshire. By bringing advanced diagnostic capabilities like MRI and CT scanning into a permanent, purpose-built space, we’re able to enhance the quality of care our patients receive, whilst also making it more accessible and efficient for our communities.
“We are so proud and grateful to our teams and partners who are working hard to deliver this ambitious project, and I would also like to extend my thanks to our wonderful colleagues who go above and beyond each day to provide exceptional care for residents across North Derbyshire.”
Walton Hospital’s community diagnostic centre (CDC) is one of five CDCs in Derby and Derbyshire developed under an initial £29.9m investment.
It opened its doors for the first time on 1 September 2025 to offer a range of diagnostic services including phlebotomy (blood tests), ultrasound, mobile CT scanning, x-ray, Point of Care* testing, audiology and cardio-respiratory testing, diagnosing conditions such as cancer, heart disease and respiratory issues.
Under the current phase 2 development, bringing MRI and CT scanning into the main building will enable more complex scans to be undertaken on site as well as increasing accessibility as patients will not need to access a mobile scanner van via steps. It means extending the building to create permanent static homes for the scanners within the main building rather than in large vans adjacent to the CDC building.
Community diagnostic centres are designed as one-stop shops, enabling patients to undergo multiple diagnostic tests under one roof, reducing the need to travel and minimising the need for multiple appointments. By delivering faster, more convenient appointments, CDCs are transforming how and where people access vital health tests, scans and checks; reducing waiting times, easing pressure on acute hospital services and supporting a key ambition of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan to move more care from hospitals to the community.
Appointments also take place at evenings and weekends, supporting more flexibility and accessibility for patients, resulting in quicker diagnosis and treatment plans. From next Spring when the phase 2 services are up and running at Walton Hospital, it is anticipated a further 190 additional patients per week will come through the doors, further enhancing the region’s diagnostic and testing capacity.
This development ticks each of the three shifts in healthcare heralded by the NHS 10 Year Plan published in July. It offers patients easier access and more choice about where to receive diagnostic tests and scans. It harnesses the very latest in sophisticated diagnostic equipment and by increasing access to state-of-the-art diagnostic tests we collectively move the dial towards earlier diagnoses and prevention of ill-health.
The CDC is the latest phase in the ongoing redevelopment of the Walton Hospital site as a base for a wide range of community health services. The CDC was constructed from 15 interconnected modular units, fabricated off site and delivered on huge lorries and manoeuvred into place very carefully over several weekends in December 2024 and January 2025.
It took precision and skill to build an entire new “wing” of Walton Hospital off site in sections and then crane it carefully into place at weekends to minimise disruption to the rest of the hospital. The development includes a new reception area serving the whole hospital.
- A DEXA scanner (Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry) is a specialized medical device that uses low-dose X-rays to measure bone mineral density (BMD), helping to diagnose conditions like osteoporosis and assess fracture risk. It can also measure body composition (bone, fat, and muscle).
- Point of Care Testing (POCT) is a system of medical tests performed by trained staff at or near the patient's location—like a ward, clinic, or home—rather than in a central laboratory. The goal is to provide rapid, accurate results to help clinicians make quick, informed decisions about treatment, improving patient care, especially for those in critical conditions or in the community.
- Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust cares for patients across a wide range of services, delivered from multiple sites including 11 community hospitals and more than 30 health centres across Derbyshire, with nearly 1.5 million patient contacts each year.
- The Trust employs approximately 4,300 staff, making it one of the largest providers of specialist community health services in the country, serving a patient population ofover one million people. Web address: https://dchs.nhs.uk/
- Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust’s head office is at: Ashgreen Learning Disability Centre, Ashgate Road, Ashgate, Chesterfield, S42 7JE