Plans to build a permanent community diagnostic centre (CDC) to help cut NHS waiting times have been given the green light.
The new medical centre at Livingstone Community Hospital, in Dartford, will replace the temporary structure already on the site and act as a one-stop shop offering patients a wider range of diagnostic tests.
It will be built on brownfield land at the back of the existing hospital where the former maternity building, which has now been demolished, once stood.
Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust sought Dartford council’s permission to build the permanent CDC in July, stating it would “provide essential diagnostic capacity to meet existing demand and to provide for the future”.
The submitted design and access statement added: “The intention is to produce a simple but attractive, permanent solution to resolve the current demands.”
The local authority’s planning officers approved the scheme on October 31.
Welcoming the decision, a trust spokesperson said: “This is an extremely positive development for the healthcare services in our local community, as it will bring improved access and availability to a wide range of crucial medical assessments and diagnostic services for our patients.
“This will result in shorter waiting times for vital tests and treatments.
“Importantly, the expedited diagnostics will play a crucial role in the early detection of various medical conditions, particularly cancer, improving outcomes for our patients.”
Construction is set to start later this month (November) and the new building is expected to be open to patients in spring 2025.
According to the planning documents, the majority of the structure will be completed offsite by contractors ModuleCo.
The new centre will have a scanning department including MRI and CT scanners, treatment and assessment rooms with an X-ray room, lab facilities as well as staff rooms.
Once built, the temporary CDC which opened on the East Hill site last November will be removed.
Livingstone Community Hospital received a share of the government’s £2.3 billion investment fund to create the CDC for Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley in a bid to cut NHS waiting times, last year.
It hopes to free up vital resources for emergency and acute care within Darent Valley Hospital, in Dartford, offering ultrasound checks, blood tests and CT and MRI scans.
It is part of 160 new CDCs across the country the government hopes to open by 2025.
To see more planning applications and other public notices for your area, click here.
The first patient to be admitted to the hospital, which was named after missionary explorer Dr David Livingstone, was on December 6, 1894.
An extension was added to the building in 1910 increasing the number of beds to 32.
in 1938, a maternity wing was opened by the Duchess of Kent, However, it was closed soon after in 1979.
