Tuesday, 16 December marked one year since the Newmarket Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) began seeing patients. During the first year, communities in and around Newmarket, as well as the rest of west Suffolk, began accessing high quality diagnostic care at this state-of-the-art centre.
The Newmarket CDC represents a significant expansion of the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s diagnostic capacity and a big investment in the Newmarket Community Hospital. The purpose built facility provides MRI, CT, X-ray, and ultrasound scans, as well as lung and heart scans, in an environment that reflects modern design and Newmarket’s equestrian heritage. In its first year, the CDC has seen 37,696 patients and performed 43,693 investigations.
This includes 5,799 MRI scans, 5,835 CT scans and 10,882 X-rays, which have helped reduce waiting times, meaning patients have faster and more convenient access to the care they need from expert diagnostic staff using modern, high-tech equipment, and therefore a decrease in the length of time between patients getting the results, and beginning any necessary treatment.
Due to the expanded capacity, the Trust’s diagnostic waiting times have improved. For MRI, in December 2024 1,611 patients were waiting for their scan, compared to 759 in October 2025 - a reduction of 53% in the latest reporting period. Additionally, the percentage of patients waiting six weeks or more for their scan has fallen from 61.4% to 1.6% over the same period.
MRI service manager, Claire Moore, said: “The Newmarket CDC is a brilliant facility, featuring state-of-the-art equipment. Our MRI scanner is spacious and faster, which gives patients a better experience and utilises AI and advanced technology to provide high quality imaging quickly. This means our patients don’t have to wait as long to receive high quality care.
Its modern design and internal features have also made this a great place to work, and our patients often comment how nice it is which is just lovely.”
For CT, the number of patients waiting six weeks or more between December 2024 and October 2025 has dropped by 75% demonstrating the positive impact the CDC is having.
Beyond performance, the CDC offers a high-quality environment which is accessible to all, with features that reduce the stress for those who may feel anxious when having a scan. These include calming visuals of nature above the scanners and throughout the CDC as well as lighting in the scanning rooms which can change colour at a patient’s request.
Michelle West, X-ray service manager, said: “The benefits of having a modern, purpose-built facility is that it encompasses all of the updated guidance into its design, and gives us the opportunity to work in spaces where we can provide high quality and compassionate care.
“The impact this is having for our patients is profound, and we look forward to continue working here and giving our patients the standard of care they deserve.”
In addition to the service and experience the CDC provides for patients, during construction the CDC and the main Newmarket hospital building were fitted with 128 solar panels, which have generated more than half of the facility's electricity. This has significantly reduced the carbon impact the facility has, and saves the Trust a considerable amount of money which can be used in other areas to improve care.
Project manager, Matthew Clarke, said: “We worked very closely with our project partners to deliver a facility that is fit for the future, so we can provide the care our patients need in a sustainable way. It’s fantastic to see how it’s benefitting patients, staff, the community, and the environment.”
Chief executive for the Trust, Dr Ewen Cameron, said: “It’s remarkable that the CDC is one year old already. While time flies, we have certainly seen how it’s helping us deliver high quality diagnosis and the compassionate care our communities deserve.
“I’d like to thank our brilliant CDC staff for all the work they’ve done to get this facility off the ground, which is having such a positive impact.”