Redesigned Mansfield NHS testing centre given approval after budget problems

Once complete the new facility at Mansfield Community Hospital will offer people in the area tens of thousands of diagnostic tests every year.

It has been changed from two storeys to one in fresh plans approved by Mansfield District Council on Monday night (September 3).

Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust says the original scheme would have cost more than expected, but the new design won’t have any impact on the services provided.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has asked the trust how much the original plans went overbudget by, when the problem was identified, and how much it has cost to redesign the project, but has not yet received a response.

It is hoped that around 160,000 MRIs, CT scans, x-rays, heart and lung tests and other tests can be performed there each year.

Construction has already begun under permission from the previous application, and is expected to be completed by autumn 2025.

Three diagnostic rooms have already opened within the main hospital building, which the trust says have already delivered 40,000 tests this year.

The centres are designed to offer quick medical tests close to where patients live, such as Mansfield town centre, and should also relieve pressure on King’s Mill Hospital.

Planning documents for the revised centre say the original would have cost more than expected, partly due to inflation and rising construction costs.

NHS bosses say the plans for the diagnostic centre were already under review internally when they were approved in January to ensure they offered value for money.

They claim the revised version will make better use of the space through refurbishment, and say that redesign costs won’t affect services.

A disused restaurant will now be converted into part of the facility, reducing the amount of new buildings which will need to be constructed.

Office space which would have originally been contained in the CDC will now be housed within the main hospital.

A derelict 1950s hospital building has been demolished to make way for the new construction.

Dr James Thomas, Acting Deputy Medical Director, said: “The centre will offer tens of thousands of tests each year, including radiology, x-rays, heart and lung tests and endoscopies.

“By reusing a derelict restaurant and refurbishing a building that already existed, it will make better use of our NHS resources.

“The design has changed but nothing else it has – we’re offering the same range of tests and procedures, and maybe even a little bit more.

“Diagnostic test demand is increasing by ten per cent year on year, both here and around the UK. We know the faster you can get a test, the faster you can get a diagnosis and treatment, and get the all clear.”

The council’s planning committee unanimously passed the plans on Monday, September 3.

The facility will be partly funded by £24.2m which Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Systems has been allocated to build diagnostic centres.

The remaining sum will be spent on a large facility in Nottingham city centre, run by Nottingham University Hospitals Trust.