New ophthalmology clinics open at Congleton War Memorial Hospital as part of Community Diagnostic Centre development

Thousands of patients are set to benefit from the launch of a new ophthalmology service at Congleton War Memorial Hospital.

Running as part of the new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) development, the service, which launched at the start of July, will provide appointments for diagnosing and treating serious eye conditions, including glaucoma and macular degeneration, with the capacity to serve over 4,000 patients annually.

Principal Optometrist at East Cheshire NHS Trust, Graham Freeman said: “The expansion of ophthalmology services to Congleton is a fantastic development for our patients.

“The increased capacity to diagnose and monitor the growing number of patients suffering from glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetes, and other chronic eye diseases will allow us to further improve the eye health of local people.”

After receiving a grant from NHS England community diagnostics programme fund last year, the new development will future-proof services and allow the Trust to provide localised diagnostics care where appropriate, reducing attendances and potentially admissions to an acute hospital setting.

The hospital, which is celebrating its 100^th anniversary this year, is now home to several diagnostic services including imaging and cardiorespiratory testing. 

The new Community Diagnostic Centre at Congleton is due to be fully open in April 2025. 

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Notes for editors

• For further information about East Cheshire NHS Trust, contact the Trust press office on 01625 663935.
• East Cheshire NHS Trust is the main provider of acute and community health services for people across East Cheshire. The Trust is based at Macclesfield District General Hospital, and also manages Congleton War Memorial Hospital and Knutsford and District Community Hospital.
• Follow East Cheshire NHS Trust on Twitter for all the latest news: @EastCheshireNHS
• East Cheshire NHS Charity goes above and beyond standard Government funding to make your local NHS that extra special. From supporting staff health and wellbeing to providing toys to brighten up our young patients’ days to making long stay patients feel more at home – our mission is to make a visible difference. You can make a donation to the charity on JustGiving here.