Construction milestone at Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust’s community diagnostic centre
A major milestone in the construction of Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust’s (PAHT) new community diagnostic centre (CDC) has been reached.
The roof of the building at St Margaret’s Hospital, Epping, is now complete and a special topping-out ceremony on Friday, June 6, marked the occasion.
It was also an opportunity for a tour of the site, where construction work is underway, and for partners to meet with Thom Lafferty, chief executive; Tom Burton, chief finance and infrastructure officer; Martin John, New Hospital Programme director; and the CDC project team.
The Community Diagnostic Centre programme is part of PAHT’s plans to support quicker and more local access to diagnostic tests close to patients’ homes.
The £14.5m building is due for completion in December 2025, with the first patient planned for January 2026.
There will be extended opening times and additional equipment at the St Margaret’s Hospital CDC to support the current additional capacity being provided for MRI scans, X-rays and non-obstetric (non-pregnancy) ultrasounds.
Improvements include two additional computerised tomography (CT) scanners, extended hours for X-rays, new ultrasound equipment, new cardiology equipment, new respiratory equipment, a relocated MRI scanner, and more phlebotomists to increase the number of blood tests carried out.
At Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop’s Stortford, additional capacity for non-obstetric (non-pregnancy) ultrasound and audiology is being provided, together with extra hours for X-rays.
Mr Lafferty said: “Thank you to everyone who joined us for the ceremony at this pivotal moment as our Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) really starts to take shape.
“It was an excellent opportunity to focus on the fantastic benefits that the CDC will bring for our patients and the asset this will be for our community.
“We are proud to work with our partners on further integrating care for our community and responding to local population health needs, with quicker and more local access to diagnostic tests for our patients.”
