STAFF, patients and well-wishers attended the official ribbon-cutting of the new Turner Diagnostic Centre at Colchester Hospital.

Built close to the hospital’s emergency department, a key part of the state-of-the-art imaging centre is cancer testing.

The centre brings together key diagnostic imaging services into one place to make it easier and more convenient for patients to access the scans they need.

It was part of the plan to transfer clinical services out of Essex County Hospital in Lexden Road and also extend patient services under the newly merged East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

The centre has two new MRI scanners now in operation alongside a PET-CT scanner.

The nuclear medicine department has been relocated there.

By increasing diagnostic capacity with the latest technology at Colchester, patients now have faster access to appointments and results.

Already this is leading to shorter waiting times and quicker diagnosis.

More than 20,000 patients are expected to be scanned in the centre this year.

The centre was funded by Alliance Medical, which provides the hospital’s MRI and PET-CT services, in collaboration with the hospital trust.

They have been able to design and build a centre which meets the needs of the hospital and the teams who operate the seven-day a week imaging service.

Centre manager Sarah Warner said: “Everything is streamlined here, but we’ve also put a lot of care into creating an environment where patients feel calm and relaxed when they come for a scan.

“Even the walls are decorated with work from artists - a reference to our community and also to the celebrated artist William Turner who lends his name to our centre.”

Trust chairman David White said: “The East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust is proud of the Turner Diagnostic Centre and the collaborative partnership we have formed with Alliance Medical to deliver improved diagnostic imaging services to Colchester.

“This has enabled the trust and more importantly our patients and staff to benefit from fantastic new facilities and equipment, joint staffing and new research capabilities.“

Work to create the multi-million pound facility started in last year and it opened in April.

Alliance Medical has chosen not to disclose the cost of the two-storey building but the equipment costs alone were in the region of £5 million.

Essex County Hospital is set to close its doors next month because the building is no longer fit for use as a modern day hospital. Many services have already transferred to Colchester Hospital and the walk-in centre next door.