A new service providing local access to diagnostic services (x-rays, ultrasounds and Dexa scans) so that patients do not have to make a longer journey to hospital has been launched in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork.

The service, funded by the HSE, has been made available at the patients attending the Livinghealth Clinic in Mitchelstown.

It is a joint initiative between the GPs in Mitchelstown, HSE and the Mercy University Hospital Radiology Department.

It will enable people in the Mitchelstown and Fermoy area, and its environs, to avail of a range of diagnostic tests at the Livinghealth Clinic in Mitchelstown rather than having to travel to Mallow General Hospital or hospitals in Cork city.

The HSE said the new service will ensure appropriate referrals to hospital emergency departments by providing improved access to diagnostics locally and will mean that patients can access appropriate services nearer their home.

The service will be accessed by the public through GP referral only.