Work for new £18m diagnostic centre begins

The ground work for Hereford's new community diagnostic centre has started

Work has began to create a new diagnostic centre for Herefordshire.

The Wye Valley Diagnostic Centre, on Holmer Road in Hereford, will provide state-of-the-art MRI, CT, X-ray and ultrasound equipment capable of early cancer diagnosis.

The £18m facility, backed by funding from NHS England, will also provide testing for blood, heart and breathing conditions.

The facility, which will be run by Wye Valley NHS Trust (WVT), forms part of a national strategy to bring in community diagnostic centres across England.

An artist's impression of what the centre will look like

Planning permission for the two-storey building was secured last month.

Builders, Speller Metcalfe, have set out plans to maximise the building’s sustainability in terms of insulation, natural light and water conservation.

“This is great news for local people,” WVT’s strategy and planning officer Alan Dawson said.

“The new centre will offer patients a wide range of diagnostic tests closer to their homes without the need to attend any of our hospital sites, and greater choice on where and how they are treated, reducing the need for hospital visits and helping them to receive potentially life-saving care sooner.”

The new centre “will lead to improved patient experience and outcomes and will contribute to shorter waits for people from Herefordshire and beyond”, he added.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.