'State-of-the-art' health hub equipment installed
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust"State-of-the-art" equipment has been installed at a new NHS diagnostic centre.
The Tees Valley Community Diagnostic Centre in Stockton will open "in the next few weeks", North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust said.
The health hub, built on the site of the former Castlegate Shopping Centre, will provide tests for cancer, heart and lung disease.
Radiologist and clinical lead for the centre Simon Milburn said the installation of two CT scanners, two MRI scanners and four ultrasound machines had been "very, very exciting".
The centre is being run by University Hospitals Tees, which is formed of the North Tees trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
It will have a number of consultation rooms.
Dr Milburn said: "This state-of-the-art facility is a once in a generation opportunity for our community in the Tees Valley."
It is based at the southern end of the former shopping centre site as part of a wider transformation of the high street led by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.
Stockton North MP Chris McDonald said the facility would make healthcare "more accessible".
"The vision of providing unified diagnostic services for our communities, north and south of the river, is becoming a reality," he said.