While many across our area will be enjoying spending time with their family over the school summer holidays, whether heading overseas on holiday or making the most of the (mostly) excellent weather at home, our local public services continue to operate day-in-day-out for those that need them.
Of course, alongside our police, the fire service, and those working for local councils, this includes local doctors, nurses, carers, and other NHS and social care workers, so it was a pleasure last week to be able to meet so many working within this sector and catch-up on their work.
Whenever I visit care homes especially, I am always inspired by the dedication of the staff to their residents. At Gregory House Care Home in Grantham recently, I saw this on display yet again and it was excellent to be able to chat to the residents and tour their beautiful gardens, created with the help of local groups and businesses.
Last Friday, it was also wonderful to be able to join local NHS leaders, NHS radiologists, and construction teams to officially open the brand new extension to our Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) on Gonerby Road, serving residents across Grantham, Bourne, and all our villages.
As I have written here before, finding and implementing innovative solutions such as CDCs to boost prevention, early intervention, and treatment is crucial to improving our local healthcare services into the future. I am delighted that this additional £5 million investment to develop this new extension will continue the delivery of this ambition.
Despite occupying only a small site, the huge impact of our CDC should not be overlooked. Itself just two years old, our CDC is playing an absolutely vital role in adding to our local healthcare capacity, removing pressure from our entire healthcare network, including Grantham Hospital and GP services.
This new extension provides a modern, permanent home for cutting-edge scanning equipment, including MRI, CT, and DEXA scanners, operating in addition to services already available at nearby hospitals.
Carrying out over 100,000 tests so far, local people at risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or stroke can now access world-leading diagnosis services to better inform themselves and medical professionals of their condition. I am particularly pleased that those with symptoms of cancer should now be able to be seen sooner, giving them the best chance to recover and minimising the effect that the distress and uncertainty of waiting for a diagnosis can have on their lives.
As the first CDC in our county, I have been assured by local NHS leaders that patients from across south Lincolnshire are now often able to be seen more quickly, potentially closer to home, and in a calmer environment than if they had to attend a local hospital, improving both outcomes and accessibility.
I will keep working with our local NHS leaders to ensure that we grasp all opportunities available to drive even better local services. Prevention and early intervention can reduce the pressure on our health network and save lives, and I want people in our area to continue to be able to benefit.
