A COMMUNITY DIAGNOSTIC CENTRE: CT & MRI
Cannock Chase Hospital required a new permanent Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) to replace the existing temporary diagnostic centre at the hospital site. The proposal was part of a broader plan for both South Staffordshire and the Black Country, with Cannock being chosen due to its population needs and the availability of infrastructure at the site.
Client
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Timeframe
12 months at site
Size/Area
580m2 (excluding roof area plant space)
Project Completed
March 2024
Increasing capacity for diagnostics
Cannock Chase Hospital required a new permanent Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) to replace its existing temporary diagnostic centre at the hospital site. The project was part of a broader plan for both South Staffordshire and the Black Country, with Cannock being chosen due to its population needs and the availability of infrastructure at the existing site.
The new CDC means patients in Cannock and South Staffordshire can be scanned closer to home, avoiding travel to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton or Walsall Manor Hospital.
While the Community Diagnostic Centre makes use of existing infrastructure at the hospital, the new diagnostic centre provided an opportunity to re-design clinical pathways, substantially increasing capacity to enable diagnostic service provision to meet the needs of local populations.
The proposal aligns to NHS Improvement’s vision for an increase in surgical elective hubs across England. Surgical hubs, which are separated from emergency services, are part of plans nationally to increase capacity for elective care with more dedicated operating theatres and beds. Cannock exclusively performs planned surgery and mainly focuses on high volume, low complexity (HVLC) surgery across ophthalmology and orthopaedics.
The overall strategy for Cannock Chase Hospital is to enable the separation of acute and elective diagnostics within the system, aligning this with the Government’s Rapid Diagnostic Centre strategy.
An accredited hub for elective surgery
Cannock Chase Hospital has received approval to become an elective hub, which comes with an increased reliance on diagnostic provision. As an accredited hub for elective surgery, the hospital will become one of eight hubs accredited under the NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme
The new Community Diagnostic Centre provides a comprehensive selection of elective diagnostic services, significantly boosting diagnostic capacity while providing patients with a more personalised and improved diagnostic experience.
By diverting patients away from hospitals, Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) reduce the number of hospital visits and waiting times, allowing hospitals to focus on treating urgent cases while diagnostic centres address the backlog for tests and checks. CDCs are also more convenient and efficient for patients, reducing the likelihood of test cancellations.
The new Community Diagnostic Centre is located on a busy hospital site. Disruption to patient and staff flow needed to be minimised during the construction phases.
As this new healthcare building utilises the existing infrastructure at the hospital, the openings and entrances of the pre-existing Cannock Chase Hospital needed to be considered in the design, as well as access to a near-by road that would be in regular use during the build programme.
“Having a CDC on the site will be absolutely ideal for the elective surgery hub, because to have something like that you really need access to CT and MRI scanners on the site as well, so we have designed it to support that type of work alongside the traditional community diagnostic work. Our new Community Diagnostic Centre is going to offer CT and MRI state-of-the-art facilities for our patients; we are hoping to carry out about 35,000 diagnostic tests per year in that building.”
Glen Whitehouse, radiographer and Group Manager for Diagnostics.
Methodology
Working closely with the Trust’s stakeholders, healthcare consultants, planners and architects were able to understand the hospital’s bespoke requirements from the clinical perspective of creating a new diagnostic centre – analysing patient and nursing needs, and operational efficiencies.
By looking at how the existing infrastructure could be re-furbished, the project was also designed to ensure affordability and efficient use of space.
Working in partnership with the NHS
Staff input was a key part of the build. Taking on team feedback, the clinical team sketched out initial ideas, with team of architects then developing the designs into the new facility.
Staff had ‘walk through’ virtual tours throughout the design phases, ensuring details were as they expected, including the dual control rooms and a design that maximised natural light.
Taking a holistic and strategic approach in collaboration with the Trust, we were able to develop a safe and high-performing design for the new facility that effectively navigated constraints while maintaining optimal outcomes for patients and staff.
Healthcare Design
The Cannock Chase CDC includes a new reception, waiting room, WCs and an office as you enter the building from the covered walkway to the existing hospital.
The building is largely single storey with a smaller additional storey for necessary plant equipment to facilitate the operations of the CDC. The massing of the building has been designed to have a low impact on the surrounding buildings and neighbouring properties.
The plant storey has also been set back away from the boundary with neighbouring properties to minimise any impact to natural daylight.
A purpose-built modular building hosting MRI & CT scanners
Cannock currently provides many of the diagnostic services required of a CDC with the exception being a CT and a Trust run MRI service. New Static CT and MRI provisions in this CDC have been installed alongside further ultrasound capacity.
“This department is a massive investment in our Radiology service. We’ve been really careful to make sure all of our support facilities are right so patients get an excellent experience as soon as they walk through the door. But we also want to make sure it’s a really nice space for staff to work in.” – Glen Whitehouse, radiographer and Group Manager for Diagnostics.
“All of our CT and MRI scanners have artificial intelligence (AI), which on the CTs ensures we get the very best image quality at the lowest X-ray dose. With our MRI scanners we’re focused on ensuring speedy scan times with best quality images. We also have the ambient lighting experience, because sometimes it can be unsettling to have an MRI scan – particularly for children. You can select a theme, pick a colour and watch TV while being scanned. If you want to feel like you’re under water, we can make that happen!”
Glen Whitehouse, radiographer and Group Manager for Diagnostics
Hosting four state-of-the-art scanners
The main corridor contains trolley recovery bays, a post procedure sub wait, along with access to the staff area, MRI and CT suite.
The CDC includes the installation of two Canon CT Aquilion Prime SP units with a CT control room.
The MRI suite houses two MRI rooms, both served by dedicated lobbies, and a MRI control room. Break out panels within the MRI room external walls allow for future flexibility for the replacement of the large MRI scanners in this spaces.
The MRI and CT rooms have been designed to be large spaces, allowing for increased flexibility for the NHS staff using them.
A clinical support zone including clean and dirty utilities, cannulation and medical drinks preparation rooms is located to the southern end of the main corridor. The dedicated staff area contains a lobby with access to a staff pantry with seating and rest area, WC and changing rooms.
Throughout the design, natural light has been incorporated including large floor-to-ceiling windows in the staff rest area, and a window in the MRI control room.
Off-site volumetric modular solution
To deliver this project at pace, and to minimise disruption to patients and staff, Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) was used. Pre-constructed modular units were designed and built offsite in a factory setting, whilst groundworks started at the hospital. The modules were delivered in the summer of 2023 via lorry over the course of a few days and craned carefully into position. This phase then followed an internal fit-out works programme, in preparation for the delivery of the four scanners. The off-site construction approach has many sustainability benefits:
- The construction of the modular healthcare units can happen during the groundworks process, significantly reducing the construction process.
- The factory based construction of the modules reduces delivery and vehicle movements to and around the hospital site, minimising traffic congestion and aiding clean air control.
- The module construction is flexible and has the potential to be reconfigured and even relocated to other locations should the need arise, giving the building a potential life beyond its original function.
- The controlled construction environment results in a highly efficient assembly process leading to greatly reduced material wastage. This helps reduce the carbon footprint of the development, avoids waste to landfill and reduces costs.
- The controlled construction setting enables better accuracy and quality control of the build process, which leads to improved insulation and airtightness resulting in much reduced energy consumption.
- The factory setting provides a beneficial working environment for the contractors, and reduces the time spent fabricating the envelope and interiors of the modules.
Sustainability in construction
The new CDC is built with high standards and quality, with much assembled offsite in factory settings – aligned with BREEAM and also NHS Net Zero standards.
To assist with the Trust’s Net Zero aspirations, the design team developed the scheme to reduce CO2 as far as possible by selecting the most appropriate material, construction method and operating systems. The design strategies employ standardisation and Modern Methods of Construction for greater efficiency. High efficiency plant including heat recovery has been used to conserve energy usage.
The design considers the embodied carbon in the manufacturing of the product. The new facility is designed to modern hospital environment standards in compliance with Department of Health and NHS HTM and HBN guidance.
In March, Health Spaces ran a series of staff engagement sessions to introduce the new Community Diagnostic Centre to over 60 staff members.
The interactive sessions were well received and gave the staff an opportunity to understand the thought process behind the design of the new space and to familiarise themselves with the new layout prior to the official opening.
Cannock CDC scans its first patients. The new facility will take around 30,000 images per year and will employ 70 new staff, with 100 patients a week being scanned – which will increase.
Find out how the new CDC at Cannock Chase will play a critical role in helping to reduce the elective recovery waiting lists.