Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre opening

On Monday, Equitix was delighted to attend the official opening of the new Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre, which offers tests to people referred by health professionals to check for a wide range of conditions including cancer.

The centre is just the first phase of a wider development transforming what was previously the privately-run Rutherford Cancer Centre North West into a first-class NHS facility for the people of Cheshire and Merseyside. In a landmark agreement in March 2023, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust acquired the building on behalf of he NHS in the region. 

Initially, Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre will offer MRI and ultrasound scans as well as blood tests (phlebotomy). That will extend to CT scans from the autumn once a new scanner has been installed and commissioned. Future phases will see it expand with additional services, further boosting NHS diagnostic capacity in response to local demand. Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre is the eighth CDC to open in Cheshire and Merseyside, which has been at the vanguard of rolling out the new centres as part of a national NHS England programme supported by government funding.

Dr Liz Bishop, Chief Executive of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Responsible Officer for Diagnostics in Cheshire and Merseyside, said: “People in Liverpool are more likely to experience ill health than the national average so it’s particularly important that they can get the tests they need when symptoms develop…Faster and earlier access to tests thanks to community diagnostic centres like this will mean people with potentially serious conditions – and those living with pain or other symptoms – can get diagnosed and start treatment more quickly, giving them a better quality of life and a better chance of a successful outcome. “

Siôn Jones, CFA COO Equitix said: “The reopening of this fantastic centre is the culmination of over 12 months’ continuous hard work to reinstate the five private healthcare centres which went into liquidation with Rutherford Healthcare last year.  I’m delighted to see that the second of these five healthcare centres has now been placed into the hands of the NHS to provide potentially lifesaving diagnostics capabilities for the people of Liverpool.  Equitix values its long standing relationship with the NHS for over 15 years, co-operating to provide innovative ways to help them deliver their patient care model and this is another example of that partnership.”

About The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s leading cancer centres, serving a population of 2.4m in Cheshire & Merseyside and surrounding areas including the Isle of Man and parts of Lancashire. It provides highly-specialist services including pioneering chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy. Their unique networked model includes three Clatterbridge Cancer Centres (Liverpool, Wirral and Aintree), Clatterbridge clinics in other hospitals, and our multi-award-winning Clatterbridge in the Community service treating patients at home.  The flagship Liverpool hospital opened in June 2020 with state-of-the-art facilities including 110 individual inpatient rooms, stem cell transplant, radiology, a Teenage & Young Adult Unit, clinical therapies, and a wide range of cancer information and support.

We released news about our agreement with the NHS and the NHS Foundation Trust back in March. The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Equitix