DEVON has secured some significant investments in a national health funding boost outlined by Wes Streeting, the health secretary.

Around £6 million will be spent on creating a new community diagnostics centre (CDC) in Bideford, at the town’s community hospital, bringing x-ray, audiology, ultrasound, Dexa (a bone density test), phlebotomy, cardiology and other services.

Exeter’s existing CDC at the Nightingale hospital will also be expanded, and Plymouth looks set to get a second CDC building behind the first one, which is only due to open its doors this summer.

Ian Roome, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon, said Bideford being chosen as just one of the four new CDCs revealed nationally in this announcement was “really good news for the whole of northern Devon”.

“We should now see more tests done closer to home, which will make a real difference for people across North Devon and Torridge, who currently have to travel further for appointments,” he said.

Mr Roome, whose persistent lobbying efforts were commented upon by Mr Streeting, said he would continue pushing for wider investment in his area, including for the North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple.

Steve Race, the Labour MP for Exeter, called the news of the city’s CDC expansion “fantastic news”.

“When I talk to people on the doorstep they have nothing but good feedback about our Nightingale CDC,” he said.

“The addition of three new scanners and more multi-purpose clinic rooms will enable more patients to be seen more quickly.

“A fast diagnosis means the best chance at a full recovery for those who need further treatment, and rapid reassurance for those who are given the all clear.”

Councillor Jess Bailey (Independent, Otter Valley), who chairs Devon County Council’s health and adult care scrutiny committee, agreed the centres would “help identify issues earlier” but didn’t feel it was a silver bullet for the whole health system.

“This investment does not address the huge financial pressures faced by the NHS in Devon,” she said.

“Things have been bad for years – they now appear to be worse than ever.

“It is also regrettable that the government is pressing on with the restructuring of the NHS system, which makes the challenges even greater.”

NHS Devon has been tasked with making around £250 million in savings as part of efforts to improve its sustainability.

Some may be hoping that the CDCs, by identifying health concerns earlier, could help reduce pressure on services such as A&E and even the ambulance service.

Dr Trevor Smith, the regional medical director for NHS England South West, said the new centre at Bideford and two expansions will mean “patients get faster, easier, and higher quality care closer to home when they require crucial diagnostic scans, tests and monitoring in the South West”.

For health secretary Mr Streeting, he had “something suspicious” spotted by A&E doctors when he was admitted due to severe back pain, which, it emerged, was being caused by kidney stones.