Barnsley Hospital’s Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) is expanding its offering to include bone density scanning, completing the initial set of diagnostic services planned in the first phase of development.
The CDC is located in the Glass Works, Barnsley’s new leisure and entertainment destination. The CDC was opened in April this year and offers phlebotomy, ultrasound diagnostics, breast screenings and plain film x-rays along with the new service.
The bone density scanning, sometimes known as DEXA scanning, uses low dose X-rays to see how dense or strong an individual’s bones are, and can be used to diagnose or assess the risk of osteoporosis.
Barnsley Hospital says that the “convenient and accessible location in the heart of Barnsley will not only provide greater local capacity for these vital diagnostic services, but it’s hoped more people will feel able to attend their regular check-ups and so help in early detection of disease”, noting that “some people are intimidated by a hospital environment and the unit in the Glass Works is far from that.”
Bob Kirton, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Delivery Officer at Barnsley Hospital, said: “We’re delighted with the location. The Glass Works is perfect for our patients and will mean people will not have to spend so much time travelling to and from the hospital for these important appointments. We have done some public engagement exercises and people have been really enthusiastic.”
“Having this centre in our fantastic Glass Works development, close to the Transport Interchange, will make it easier for residents from right across the borough to attend appointments for screening,” added Sir Stephen Houghton, Leader of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, “and this in turn means disease can be picked up earlier and treated when there is better chance of a good outcome. Access to testing means people can manage their health conditions better, and live a better quality life as a result. This is a great example of how towns need to think differently about the services in their town centre and embed health and wellbeing services and uses at the heart of the design of town centres going forward.”
