One of Europe's largest endoscopy centres will open in Norwich next week, promising an improved service for people being screened for diseases and medical conditions.

The gastroenterology department at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is moving some of its services to the £81m Quadram Institute at Norwich Research Park.

It will welcome its first patients on Monday, December 10 and will be home to a range of endoscopy and bowel cancer screening services.

An endoscope is a long, thin, flexible tube, with a light source and camera at one end. Images of the inside of people's bodies are relayed to a television screen, to help with diagnoses.

Dr Simon Rushbrook, the clinical lead for gastroenterology at NNUH said: 'We are delighted to be moving into this fantastic new building and we are really excited to be starting our endoscopic service in this state-of-the-art building.

'The Quadram Institute is a unique institution by bringing together a busy NHS department with scientists and researchers in a groundbreaking collaboration.

'This puts our department at the forefront of endoscopy services and increase capacity. It will result in quicker access to endoscopic diagnostics for patients and rapid access for the diagnosis or exclusion of gastrointestinal cancer.'

The Quadram Institute's mission is to develop solutions to worldwide challenges in human health, food and disease.

It has been created by four founding partners – the NNUH, University of East Anglia, Quadram Institute Bioscience and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Mark Davies, chief executive of NNUH, said: 'I'd like to congratulate everyone at NNUH involved in this project and their hard work.

'The Quadram Institute is an incredible building and we are looking forward to welcoming our first patients to the new endoscopy centre.

'We look forward to building upon our close partnership with the scientists and researchers at the Quadram Institute once it is fully occupied.'

The 10 room endoscopy centre at the Quadram Institute will be run under a managed service agreement between NNUH and Genmed, working in partnership with Olympus.