A new £10 million Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) has been officially unveiled.

The facility at Leigh Infirmary was opened by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.

Mr Burnham said: "I am absolutely delighted to be able to officially open the Community Diagnostic Centre at Leigh Infirmary.

Mr Burnham said he was "delighted" to open the facility (Image: Supplied) "These are vital services that are making a real difference to the people of Leigh and the surrounding areas, and it is always a pleasure to be able to celebrate significant milestones such as this."

The Wrightington, Wigan, and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) celebrated the launch on November 8 with staff and VIPs.

Construction started in December 2022 and finished on time in November 2023.

The launch was celebrated on November 8 (Image: Supplied) More than 65,000 additional tests have already been provided to patients in the borough, with 1,600 tests now being carried out every week.

WWL's chief executive, Mary Fleming, praised the development, saying: "It is wonderful to see so many of our staff and partnership colleagues joining us on this special occasion, and of course, Mr Burnham.

"The diagnostic part of healthcare is key – the earlier you receive your diagnostics, the earlier you can step down and have peace of mind or the quicker it is we can help you and the better the outcome will potentially be."

Construction started in December 2022 (Image: Supplied) The CDC offers expanded radiology services, including new CT and MRI facilities.

It also houses remodelled cardiology, phlebotomy, and sleep service departments, increasing capacity for procedures such as X-rays, ultrasounds, ECGs, and lung function tests.

A new breast screening service will also be based at the site.

The facility at Leigh Infirmary was opened by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (Image: Supplied) The addition of CT and MRI scanning equipment means that the trust can offer these procedures at Leigh Infirmary for the first time.

Richard Mundon, director of strategy and planning and executive lead for Leigh, said: "It has been a mammoth exercise to get £10m invested into Leigh and it is vitally important to help address health inequalities and providing services that were not here before to this side of the borough.

"Having these new CT and MR scanners is a shining example of what it means to bring facilities to those who haven’t had them close before."