PATIENTS can now access more care and treatment in the Taunton Diagnostic Centre building.

The centre opened in September 2021 as England's first community diagnostic centre run by the independent sector in partnership with the NHS.

Through this partnership between Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Alliance Medical, diagnostic imaging services, such as ultrasound, MRIs, computed tomography and X-Rays are provided on the ground floor.

Now two new services into the first floor, with clinicians starting to see their first patients.

It means patients can now visit the centre for an echocardiogram (echo scan), which looks at the heart and blood vessels.

This involves a small probe used to emit high-frequency soundwaves that create echoes when they bounce off different parts of the body.

In addition, part of the orthopaedic assessment service for Somerset (OASIS) has moved into the building so patients can get treatment for conditions affecting joints, bones and muscles, and nerve tissue without visiting hospital.

Patients are generally referred by their GP, with teams physiotherapists developing a treatment plan for those with injuries and diseases affecting their muscles, bones and joints of the limbs and spine.

Cardiac physiologist and echo service lead at the trust Richard Clements said: “Our department, like many others, saw waiting times increase over the Covid-19 pandemic, and at one point the waiting list for an echocardiogram was almost a year. One of the limitations to addressing this was the lack of physical space at Musgrove Park Hospital.

“With access to the room and equipment at the Taunton Diagnostic Centre, combined with increased staffing, we’ve been able to reduce the wait to less than six weeks.

"By further expanding our capacity at the diagnostic centre, we can help maintain this and reduce the wait for other tests within cardiology.”

David Shannon, trust director of strategy and digital development, said: “We’re really pleased to be opening an additional area at the Taunton Diagnostic Centre as so many patients will get their treatment more quickly, and it will free up more space at Musgrove Park Hospital for complex and urgent procedures.

“When the building was converted into a diagnostic centre in 2021, we future-proofed it for additional services, as we always planned for some outpatient clinics to move into the building at some point.

“The growth in waiting times as result of the Covid-19 pandemic, meant that we needed to explore ways to create extra capacity for planned care and treatment at an earlier stage, so using this centre is ideal – both for helping to get more patients seen and treated, and improving their overall experience at the same time."