Over £10 million investment to expand Metrocentre Community Diagnostic Centre and improve access to NHS tests

Accessing NHS scans is about to get even easier for people across Gateshead and the North East as the Community Diagnostic Centre prepares to expand.

Completed in October 2024, phase one of the centre was delivered through an investment of £18.6 million. A further investment of over £10 million has now been secured for phase two, creating capacity for more than 38,000 additional diagnostic appointments and tests each year and helping people receive answers and treatment sooner.

Since opening in October 2024, the centre has already supported more than 75,000 patients to access scans and diagnostic checks in a convenient community location.

The phase 2 development, scheduled to open in spring 2027, will introduce new equipment and additional clinics, including:

• A brand-new MRI scanner to provide detailed internal body images.
• Two additional rooms for ultrasound, which allows organ and soft tissue examinations.
• New X-ray facilities, increasing the speed of routine diagnostic checks.
• A dedicated clinic space for outpatient hysteroscopy procedures (procedure used to look inside the womb (uterus) to diagnose or treat various conditions).
• More space for community-based diagnostic consultations, ensuring patients get their results faster than ever.

The Metrocentre CDC represents a shift in healthcare, moving services out of hospital environments and into the places where people live, shop and spend their leisure time.

Joanne Halliwell, Group Chief Operating Officer at Gateshead Health, said:

“Welcoming 75,000 patients in such a short space of time shows just how much people value having high quality healthcare in a location that fits their daily lives. Phase 2 will allow us to meet rising demand for MRI and ultrasound while continuing to provide care closer to home.”

Dr Sean Fenwick Acting Chief Executive of Gateshead Health, said:

“This investment of over £10 million is another important step forward for diagnostic services in Gateshead and across the North East. It means more people will be able to access tests more quickly, receive answers sooner and start treatment at the right time.

The success of the Community Diagnostic Centre shows how bringing services into the community can make care more convenient for patients and reduce pressure on busy hospital services. Expanding the centre strengthens our ambition to be recognised as a centre of excellence for diagnostic services and reflects our commitment to delivering modern healthcare closer to where people live.”

Gareth Davies, CDC Clinical Manager, at Gateshead Health, said:

“Adding this extra MRI, ultrasound, hysteroscopy and X ray capacity right here in the Metrocentre will make a difference for our patients. By moving these vital tests away from the busy hospital environment and into the community, we can spot conditions like cancer much earlier.

Our team works across both the hospital and this centre, ensuring that patients receive the highest standard of care in a way that fits around their daily lives.

We will be taking diagnostic patient care one step further by including vital additional clinic space so that we can implement holistic care built around their needs, and increasing the pace to treatment”

Ben Cox, Director at Sovereign Centros from CBRE, Asset Managers of Metrocentre, said: 

“This additional investment is a huge vote of confidence in Metrocentre and the wider region, demonstrating the success of our strategy in bringing essential services like healthcare into the centre, and why diversifying the mix of uses is so important for the future of retail and leisure destinations.

We are giving more people a reason to visit and increasing our access to shoppers, which is having positive knock-on benefits for the wider centre. It reinforces Metrocentre’s role at the heart of the community, providing a convenient place where people can shop, spend time with family and friends, and now access even more essential healthcare services all in one location.”

The centre is a partnership between Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as part of the Great North Healthcare Alliance, bringing together expertise from across the region to deliver diagnostic services closer to where people live.