Councillor Barry Dyke, Mayor of Chesterfield, was the guest of honour at a ceremony to mark the opening of a brand new £5.2m Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at the town’s Walton Hospital on 10 September.
He was joined by other invited guests and NHS dignitaries from the two local NHS Trusts who have worked together over the past 18 months on developing this purpose-designed centre for a whole range of diagnostic tests. These are Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust which runs Walton Hospital and Chesterfield Royal NHS Foundation Trust whose clinical teams are running the diagnostic tests.
Julie Houlder, Chair of Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This new centre is brilliant news for people living and working in Chesterfield and north Derbyshire and an example of the NHS working together to achieve what’s best for the local community.
“I’m proud to say that this amazing 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.”
Walton Hospital’s CDC – one of five CDCs in Derby and Derbyshire developed under a £29.9m investment - opened its doors for the first time on 1 September 2025. It offers a range of services including phlebotomy (blood tests), ultrasound, CT scanning, x-ray, Point of Care Testing, Audiology and Cardio-respiratory, diagnosing conditions such as cancer, heart disease and respiratory issues.
Within the first month of opening, more than 4,000 tests and scans are expected to take place, with many appointments at evenings and weekends, supporting more flexibility and accessibility for patients: resulting in quicker diagnosis and treatment plans.
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 last December and January.
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. Watch this space for more photos to follow!