Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to announce the opening of a new Breast Imaging Examination Room within Leigh Infirmary’s new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) facility.
This new ‘one-stop-clinic’ enables patients to be seen, examined and have imaging scans performed during one visit at Leigh Infirmary, reducing travel time and costs for Leigh-based patients who previously would have needed to visit the breast screening centre at the Thomas Linacre Centre (TLC) in Wigan. It also means that WWL can offer an increased capacity so that a higher volume of patients can be seen to help meet current and future demand.
Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon, Dr Jeffrey Dalli, said: “This significant investment is fantastic news for our Leigh site and will certainly go some way to reducing the waiting times for ‘one-stop-clinic’ appointments in Greater Manchester. Faster diagnostics, results in faster treatment which ultimately saves lives.
“Our dedicated team of clinicians, healthcare professionals and support staff provide a wonderful standard of care at TLC and now this care can now be offered at Leigh which is fantastic news for the local community.”
Accessed via urgent referrals, patients must first be seen by their GP to access the clinic should they experience any symptoms such as lumps in the breast tissue, nipple discharge and changes to their breast, including pain.
On arrival at the clinic, patients will fill in a questionnaire before being examined by a breast cancer surgeon who will identify what tests need to be done. Then, breast imaging in the form of mammograms or ultrasound are carried out at the radiology department and reported immediately. Subsequently, both the results and any follow up plans are communicated to the patient by the surgeon.
Dr Dalli added: “The benefit of this ‘one-stop-clinic’ is that those who are shown to have nothing serious are immediately reassured and discharged, while those who need further tests, including biopsies, can have them done immediately which can speed up the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.”
WWL’s Chief Executive, Mary Fleming, praised the new service, and said: “I am absolutely delighted that we are now able to offer this service at Leigh infirmary. The clinic is vital for our Borough and is another key benefit of our new Community Diagnostic Centre that goes some way to addressing health inequalities in the area – be it by access or time saved for patients.”