By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Councillors on a county council committee will be asked to support plans for a state-of-the-art new NHS diagnostics centre in Mansfield.
The major new project, led by Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust (SFH), was awarded Government funding last month.
Overall, NHS bosses expect the project to bring an investment of about £20m to the town.
Its aim is to provide a “one-stop-shop” for patients to access tests and investigations in a single visit.
It would give quick answers to health concerns including cancer and allow people to get either the ‘all clear’ or a diagnosis sooner.
SFH says the facility, which would be built alongside the existing Stockwell Gate community hospital, could welcome its first patients in autumn 2024.
Once open, the trust hopes it will welcome thousands of patients each year and create hundreds of jobs in clinical and non-clinical roles.
Now members of Nottinghamshire County Council’s health scrutiny committee will discuss the proposals ahead of a crucial planning meeting later this year.
A presentation on the plans will be made by the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) during the March 28 meeting.
Councillors will be asked to give the project their backing ahead of an expected Mansfield District Council planning committee decision later in the spring.
Papers published ahead of the meeting say the site will “increase diagnostic capacity across a range of key tests”.
This includes MRI scans, CT scans, ultrasounds, endoscopies and X-Rays.
And NHS leaders will tell councillors the centre would be open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
It comes as part of NHS England plans to improve population health and support quicker diagnoses for serious conditions.
The site is one of four community diagnostics centres (CDCs) in the Midlands given funding approval by the Government last month.
Lucy Dadge, director of integration at the ICB, said in a report: “Over the past five years, demand for diagnostic services in England has risen at a greater rate than increases in diagnostic capacity.
“This is reflected locally and has been exacerbated by Covid, with increased waiting times for key tests such as MRI, CT, Echocardiography, Ultrasound and Endoscopy.
“Whilst good progress is being made in reducing backlogs and waiting times, additional capacity is required to accelerate the reduction and futureproof services to further predicted increases in demand.”
She said the building will work alongside SFH’s King’s Mill Hospital and would be “most advantageous” to patients aged 65 and above, people in the most deprived communities and people from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Staffing for the hub will be part of a separate recruitment drive, although staff working at King’s Mill and Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) could also be rotated into the CDC.
She added: “[This] will provide new capacity to the NHS and as such a significant new workforce will need to be recruited and trained.
“Approximately 160 new staff across a range of clinical and administrative areas will be required to run the Mansfield CDC.”
