Health Secretary Steve Barclay visited Falmer with Lewes MP Maria Caulfield to learn more about the community diagnostic centre there first-hand.
Mr Barclay said that the community diagnostic centre was one of more than a hundred around the country that were helping to tackle NHS waiting lists.
Mrs Caulfield, a junior health minister, said that the set up – based at Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club’s stadium – also meant shorter waiting times for patients.
Earlier this month Mr Barclay said that 13 more community diagnostic centres were opening, with eight of them independently run – like the facility at Falmer. The other five were being run by the NHS.
The Falmer centre is run by Medical Imaging Partnership Limited, more commonly known as Medical Imaging, which operates from a dozen locations, most of them in Sussex.
It is one of four existing independently run community diagnostic centres which were given contracts to help ease the pressure on the National Health Service.
It provides NHS patients with ultrasound, CT and MRI scans, x-rays and ultrasound guided injections.
Mrs Caulfield, who used to represent Moulsecoomb and Bevendean on Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “The secretary of state was very impressed with the diagnostic centre at Falmer, from the state-of-the-art scanners to the facilities for patients and from free parking to comfortable waiting areas.
“It means for residents that we have been able to reduce the time people are waiting for tests by having capacity outside of our busy local hospitals.”
Mr Barclay said: “I was very impressed with the service at Falmer and how quickly patients are being seen.
“Nationally, community diagnostic centres have delivered over four million additional checks for a range of conditions from cancer to heart or lung disease, helping to cut waiting lists.
“The one-stop shops support quicker access to care and offer patients a wide range of tests closer to home – and I heard from patients and staff what a great new service this is for the local area.”
Earlier this month, Mr Barclay said: Barclay, said: “We must use every available resource to deliver life-saving checks to ease pressure on the NHS.
“By making use of the available capacity in the independent sector – and enabling patients to access this diagnostic capacity free at the point of need – we can offer patients a wider choice of venues to receive treatment and in doing so diagnose major illnesses quicker and start treatments sooner.”
I would have liked Mr Barclay to have had an MRI so we can finally confirm the existence of the void between his two ears.