Minister opens new £18m health centre in Hereford

3 days ago

Tom EdwardsHereford & Worcester political reporter

Health minister Stephen Kinnock (centre) cut the ribbon at the Wye Valley Community Diagnostic and Treatment Centre

BBC A group of men and women standing outside, with one man in a suit cutting a blue ribbon to a building. — Health minister Stephen Kinnock (centre) cut the ribbon at the Wye Valley Community Diagnostic and Treatment Centre

Health minister Stephen Kinnock has opened a new £18m diagnostic centre in Hereford, which is hoped will bring down long NHS waiting lists.

The Labour politician cut the ribbon on the facility, which is expected to deliver 65,000 tests a year.

The Wye Valley Community Diagnostic and Treatment Centre has a range of equipment including a CT scanner, ultrasound, MRI scanner and X-ray suite capable of testing for an array of illnesses.

The minister said: "By investing in new centres closer to where people live and work, patients can get tests and scans when it works for them."

The move follows years of concern about Hereford County Hospital being overstretched and under pressure, with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating it as requiring improvement after its last visit in 2024.

When the Wye Valley NHS Trust applied for permission for the centre, bosses said it would be "critical" in easing pressure on the diagnostics department at Hereford's hospital.

Kinnock said the government's "number one priority" was keeping people out of A&E

A man wearing a white shirt and blue tie, surrounded by medics. — Kinnock said the government's "number one priority" was keeping people out of A&E

Kinnock added: "This centre will benefit tens of thousands of patients across Herefordshire and Powys with state-of-the-art diagnostics, without forcing anyone to miss the school run or a work shift.

He said the centre was one of 170 across the country "delivering much needed checks, transforming care, speeding up diagnosis and cutting waiting times".

Trust chairman Russell Hardy said it was a "significant milestone" for NHS care in Herefordshire, and would help detect illnesses like heart conditions and cancer.

The centre had a soft launch in September, and is now open from 08:00 to 20:00 daily.

"This eases the pressure on our diagnostic facilities at Hereford County Hospital and frees them up to be used by patients, who come in via our emergency department and need urgent scans and treatment," he said.

"It also means non-urgent patients get the diagnosis they need more quickly."

Sarah Shingler, the trust managing director, said people would benefit from being "in a purpose-built environment away from a main hospital setting".

So far more than 8,000 people have been referred to the centre.

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