Wembley Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) has doubled its MRI scanning capacity following a building expansion completed by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
The expansion will enable the centre to provide an additional 26,000 MRI scans each year, bringing its total diagnostic capacity to almost 70,000 scans annually.
The two new scanners went into service earlier this month, following six months of construction and installation work funded by NHS England as part of the trust’s wider estates investment programme.
The project involved extending the existing CDC building which initially opened in 2004 to create two additional rooms to house the scanners.
The increased capacity is intended to help patients access diagnostic tests for cancer and other serious illnesses more quickly, while reducing waiting times across north-west London.
Remote MRI scanning extends opening hours
Wembley CDC formally opened in early 2024, initially offering around 30,000 diagnostic tests a year.
The latest expansion follows the introduction of remote MRI scanning technology in 2025 to extend the service’s operating hours.
The technology allows radiographers to operate MRI scanners remotely between 8pm and midnight, in addition to in-person scanning from 8am to 8pm.
The trust said the approach has helped increase access for patients living in more deprived areas, reaching 24% more people from these communities during extended hours.
Missed appointments also fell from 6.6% during daytime appointments to two per cent during the extended-hours service.
“Thank you to everyone who contributed to this significant undertaking, the six months of building and installation works and the many months of planning before that,” said David Tao, Clinical Services Manager at Wembley CDC.
Wembley is one of three community diagnostic centres serving north-west London.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust also operates the Willesden CDC, while London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust runs the Ealing CDC.
