Dr Luke Evans, MP for Bosworth, has warmly welcomed news that an application for a Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at the local Hinckley Hospital has been successful.
This comes after the MP supported the NHS proposal over the summer to bring improved healthcare to Hinckley and the surrounding area.
The local NHS Integrated Care Board covering Hinckley and District Hospital, located on Mount Road, submitted a bid for a testing unit to be built on site to improve accessibility to healthcare for people in the area.
Bosworth’s MP wrote to the Secretary of State for Health, Steve Barclay, to signal his support for the application and followed up with ministers when Parliament returned for the autumn session. Dr Luke Evans reiterated the benefits that a local testing unit would bring to constituents.
The NHS proposals for the CDC unit would include facilities for MRI and CT scans to be carried out at the Hinckley and District Hospital, as well as ultrasound and X-rays. The plans would also include a range of diagnostics services including phlebotomy (blood testing).
Dr Luke Evans MP said “I am absolutely delighted to have supported the bid by Hinckley and District Hospital and to hear that their application for a Community Diagnostic Centre in Hinckley has been successful.
“This is fantastic news for our community and, given healthcare in our area is an issue I am frequently contacted about, I know that the CDC unit will be welcomed by people in Hinckley and neighbouring villages.
“Bringing MRI facilities, CT scans and the ability to conduct blood testing in Hinckley will save local people time and bolster healthcare provisions in our area.
“I’ve already heard from the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) and am pleased to hear they are moving quickly on this and will be providing the opportunity to all constituents to be involved in developing the plans.”
Andy Williams, Chief Executive of the NHS Integrated Care Board for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland said: “This is great news and, takes us a step further to provide patients in Hinckley and surrounding areas with easier access to important services closer to where they live.
“We know that when people are ill, the last thing they want to do is have to wait for an appointment and then travel to a large acute hospital site. These plans would help to take that burden away, by providing more high-quality services locally.
“These plans are part of bigger proposals that the ICB has for people living in and around Hinckley. As with all proposals, we are committed to involving local people and staff in everything that we do that affects their health. Over the next few weeks, we will be talking to communities across Hinckley and Bosworth about the plans and engaging widely from January 2023. This provides everyone with the opportunity to be involved in co-designing the care they receive and the care they provide.”
