New ultrasound service at North Derbyshire’s Community Diagnostic Centre
Ultrasound scans are being offered at Whitworth Hospital in Darley Dale from Monday (6 March).
The new service is part of the development of North Derbyshire’s Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), located at Whitworth Hospital in a partnership between Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The new service, which will offer a full range of ultrasounds for all parts of the body, will be open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm, and will be staffed by Chesterfield Royal Hospital sonographers.
Ultrasound scans create an image of the inside your body using sound waves. They are often used to monitor an unborn baby and can be used to help diagnose other issues.
Patients who are currently waiting for an ultrasound will be given the option to attend Whitworth Hospital when booking their appointment and will often be seen much quicker at the community diagnostic centre, with less waiting when there.
The ultrasound provision is the latest addition to the North Derbyshire CDC. Services include extended weekend x-ray facilities (Monday to Sunday, 8am to 8pm - accessible by GPs and the Urgent Treatment Centre) and phlebotomy (blood testing) open Tuesdays and Thursday, 10am to 1.45pm.
Over the next few months more imaging services will be made available as the Whitworth Hospital-based community diagnostic centre is established to the full. Community diagnostic centres are a national initiative to increase the availability of diagnostic testing and also to bring testing out into the community to save patients needing to travel to big acute hospitals for all their tests.
Patients still have the option to attend ultrasound appointments at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, but may receive an appointment quicker if they are able to attend Whitworth’s community diagnostic centre.
Read more about community diagnostic centres: Community Diagnostic Centres (CDC) | Health Education England (hee.nhs.uk)