People will soon be able to have an NHS ultrasound or X-ray at Milton Keynes city centre as part of new plans

Two new Community Diagnostic Centres are to open later this year in Milton Keynes to give NHS patients easier and quicker access to everything from scans to blood tests.

One of the centres will be at the heart of CMK, in Lloyds Court, and the other will be at the new Whitehouse Health Centre in the Western Expansion Area.

The Lloyds Court centre will provide services including ophthalmology, DEXA, X-ray, ultrasound, phlebotomy, and Point of Care Testing. Once fully operational, it will deliver an extra 221,214 checks a year.

The Whitehouse centre will deliver an extra 52,550 tests, checks and scans a year, including including MRI, echocardiography, sleep studies and endoscopy. Both will ne equipped with “ground breaking” technology and machines, say NHS bosses.

They are part of the government’s plans to open 19 more Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) this year, building on the 92 operational CDCs already open elsewhere in the country and delivering three million potentially lifesaving checks, tests and scans

The news has been applauded by city Conservative MPs Ben Everitt and Iain Stewart. They say the centres will provide earlier diagnoses for patients and a reduction in hospital waiting lists.

The new facilities will also contribute to the NHS’s net zero ambitions by providing multiple tests at one visit, reducing the number of patient journeys and helping to cut carbon emissions.

Ben Everitt, the MP for Milton Keynes North, said: "This is absolutely fantastic news for Milton Keynes. I've been lobbying the government daily for more investment in healthcare in Milton Keynes and caught up with Steve Barclay last week so I'm delighted they are delivering.

"This will allow the people of Milton Keynes to benefit from more than 273,000 extra tests every single year and is on top of the brand new mobile breast cancer screening unit that is on the way, and the Maple Centre which opened at Milton Keynes University Hospital last year."

Iain Stewart, the MP for Milton Keynes South, said: “These two Community Diagnostic Centres will have such a positive impact locally, helping constituents to get seen and receive the necessary medical diagnosis.

“I am grateful for all the investment that this Conservative Government has put into Milton Keynes’ healthcare provision over the last few years including the new Maple Centre Unit, the mobile cancer screening unit and a brand new mental health facility, and I will continue to lobby for more investment into the city.”

Steve Barclay, Health and Social Care Secretary, added: "Rapid diagnosis offers reassurance to patients, reduces waiting lists, and, crucially, saves lives.

"CDCs have been fundamental to this effort, delivering over 3 million extra tests which are helping to diagnose conditions from cancer to lung disease more quickly across the country.

"The new centres will take us even further, utilising cutting-edge MRI, CT and X-ray machine to transform the way we deliver care closer to people’s homes helping tens of thousands of people."