The £17.8 million facility will provide a range of specialist diagnostic and outpatient services to the population of Bridgwater and the surrounding areas. The go-ahead follows the opening of a community diagnostic centre in Taunton in 2020, and the development of a diagnostic centre next to Yeovil Hospital, expected to open later this year.
The Bridgwater Diagnostic Centre will run a range of services from two CT scanners, two MRI scanners, four outpatient rooms, and two echocardiography/ultrasound rooms, providing the Bridgwater population with routine and specialist cardiac and cancer scanning, alongside clinics.
David Craig, the Trust’s Programme director for the project, said: “This development is fantastic news for people in Bridgwater, and will improve access to vital healthcare scans, and help us reduce our waiting times. The new centre supports one of the three shifts of the NHS 10 Year Plan for England –involves transferring more care from hospitals into local communities.
“Running seven days a week, it will improve access for people in Bridgwater and the surrounding areas to specialist care, providing almost 25,000 additional scans every year.
We have this month applied for planning permission for the new centre, and if approved, the new facility is likely to open in Summer 2026. It will be developed by Ergea, a managed equipment supplier.”
While the centre is in development, the Trust has been working closely with Agito Medical to provide temporary MRI and CT scanners at Bridgwater Community Hospital. Dan Keeble, Commercial director of Agito Medical, added: “We have built a strong partnership with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, and together have set up an MRI and CT service that has so far seen 5,760 patients.”