Plans for new medical centre in Hereford

Plans have been unveiled for a new medical centre in Hereford intended to catch life-threatening diseases early.

Wye Valley NHS Trust says its planned Diagnostic Centre off Holmer Road to the north of the city is “critical to easing pressure on the diagnostics department of the Herefordshire County Hospital”.

Clad in black metal with timber detailing, the new two-storey building would house specialist scanning and diagnostic equipment including MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), CT (computed tomography) and x-ray, along with consulting rooms, a reception and waiting area and staff facilities.

NHS England requires the design to achieve an “excellent” BREEAM rating, a measure of building sustainability, which will mean high levels of insulation, natural light and water conservation.

When complete it would be in use from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.

Lying between B&Q and Glosford Secure Storage, the one-hectare, roughly square plot is currently mostly grass with car parking along the eastern edge.

A resurfaced car park along with new soft landscaping would be installed outside. The site could accommodate future expansion of the centre, the planning application shows.

Alternative sites in former shops in the city centre were earlier dismissed as unviable due to the cost of refitting them for specialist medical equipment, leaving a newbuild on the city fringe as “the best option”, the application explains.

Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are now prioritised in national health policy as they allow patients to be screened for conditions closer to home, with shorter waiting times and less likelihood of cancellation.

Comments on the planning application, numbered 233121, can be made until November 30.