Work to start on new community healthcare diagnostic centre in Luton town centre
Patients in and around Luton will be able to use a new community diagnostic centre set to be built in the town after getting £25 million in funding.
Work will start to create the centre, within the University of Bedfordshire campus in Luton, to house healthcare services for endoscopy, CT scanning and bone density scanning.
The centre will make for earlier diagnosis, improve long-term condition management, and strengthen care coordination by having diagnostics and follow-up care all under one roof.
Melanie Banks, director of redevelopment and strategic planning at Bedfordshire Hospitals, said: “This new community diagnostic hub is a fantastic step forward for both our patients and our staff. Bringing diagnostics and follow-up care together under one roof, closer to where people live, enables us to detect conditions earlier, reduce waiting times, and ease the anxiety that often comes with delays in diagnosis. It also significantly reduces the need for patients to travel to the main hospital site, allowing us to deliver faster, more joined-up care that truly improves outcomes.”
Professor Andrew Church, interim vice chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, called the centre “a major step forward for local people”.
He added: “By removing some of the barriers that can delay diagnosis, this centre will play an important role in improving health outcomes across our community. It also gives our healthcare students a unique opportunity to learn in a real clinical environment, building the skills and confidence they need to support the communities they will go on to serve.”