​Faster access to CT scans as Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre expands

Posted 27th September 2023

New scanner features mood lighting, ambient images and music for a ‘spa-like’ feel to relax patients

Picture showing three female radiographers in maroon scrubs with a CT scanner in a room with oink ambient lighting and visuals on the wall

A new NHS service in Liverpool will help people waiting for CT scans at local hospitals to get the tests they need more quickly.

Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), which is located near the bottom of Edge Lane in central Liverpool, has now expanded its services to include CT scans with a state-of-the-art new scanner.

Paddington CDC opened in July and also offers MRI and ultrasound scans for people referred there as well as blood tests. It is owned and operated by The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust on behalf of the NHS in Cheshire and Merseyside.

The new high-spec Siemens Somatom X-cite CT scanner was funded by NHS England's community diagnostic centre programme and features the very latest technological advances, including:

  • Atmospheric lighting and a projector that can show videos, music and scenery so patients feel more relaxed
  • Colour-coded breath hold where the lights change colour so patients who are deaf or hard of hearing know when they need to hold their breath
  • A patient monitoring camera inside the ‘doughnut’ that makes it easier for staff to see any signs that someone may be having a bad reaction to the contrast dye used for some types of scans
  • A tin filter that means staff can get better images at lower radiation doses, where appropriate
  • The ability to scan patients with a larger body weight than many other scanners can

Sammy McNeill, CT Clinical Specialist Radiographer at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, has been heavily involved in developing the CT service in Paddington and said: “We’re really excited about the new scanner which has state-of-the-art imaging and provides detailed scans for patients on waiting lists; giving them a quicker diagnosis.

“It also has a host of features to help patients relax including mood lighting, ambient images and music so they have the best possible experience while being scanned. We have had amazing feedback from our first patients and it has been described as a spa-like experience which has been really lovely to hear.”

Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre Manager Michelle Moody said: “Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre is NHS owned and operated and we’re delighted that we have now added CT scans to the services we provide, along with MRI scans, ultrasound and blood tests.

"It means people on waiting lists for tests and scans can have them more quickly in a convenient and efficient NHS centre away from the pressures of a busy hospital.”

Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre is part of NHS England's national programme of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) offering patients earlier, faster access to vital health tests and scans.

Picture shows: CT clinical specialist radiographer Sammy McNeill (centre) with diagnostic radiographers Emily Barnard (left) and Beth Middleton (right)

The video below shows the CT scanner's journey from arriving at the centre to being ready for patients