The minister attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with Cllr Sue Shinnick, Mayor of Thurrock, James McMurdock MP, local councillors and NHS staff.

Dr Ahmed said: ‘Community Diagnostic Centres are transforming how people access care, delivering thousands of extra tests, scans and checks closer to home, seven days a week. Thanks to the investment made in the NHS, patients in Thurrock will now benefit from faster diagnosis closer to home.

‘Equipped with the latest technology, this centre will give patients quicker tests, reduce pressure on hospitals and make it easier than ever to get the care they need. It's another step forward in our plan to cut waiting times and build an NHS fit for the future.'

The centre began seeing patients in September and has already delivered almost 2,500 appointments, with services including MRI and CT scans, ultrasounds, x-rays, blood tests and echocardiograms. Respiratory, anticoagulation and audiology services will be added in the coming months. Once fully operational, the CDC will provide more than 75,000 diagnostic appointments each year.

The CDC is part of a national NHS initiative to move diagnostic services out of busy hospitals and into the community – helping to ease pressure on main hospitals and improve access to timely care.