A new £17.8m community diagnostic centre (CDC) in Bridgwater is expanding diagnostic capacity across Somerset. Opened on 18 August, the centre demonstrates the value of long-term NHS and managed equipment services (MES) partnerships in delivering healthcare infrastructure at pace.
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For health systems facing rising demand for diagnostic services, the answer is not simply to acquire more scanners. It is about creating the capacity, facilities, technology and clinical pathways needed to provide faster access to diagnosis, while easing pressure on acute hospitals and making better use of existing resources.
The Bridgwater CDC was developed by Somerset Foundation Trust as part of its long-standing managed service partnership with Ergéa UK, and forms part of the trust’s wider community diagnostics programme to increase diagnostic capacity, support earlier diagnosis and reduce waiting times for patients.
The centre offers MRI and CT services, with Somerset’s first urology investigation unit due to open later this year. Once fully operational, it is expected to deliver almost 25,000 additional scans each year for people across Bridgwater and the wider Somerset area.
As demand for diagnostics continues to grow, Bridgwater offers a practical example of what can be achieved when infrastructure investment is treated not as a standalone capital project, but as part of a wider transformation of how and where diagnostic services are delivered.
Bringing diagnostics closer to patients
For the trust, the project is about more than creating additional scanning capacity. By moving more diagnostics and planned care into the community, it can make services more convenient for patients while helping to release capacity within the trust’s two acute hospitals.
That approach reflects the wider ambition behind the CDC programme.
As health minister Karin Smyth highlighted at the centre’s opening: “The NHS should fit around people’s lives, not the other way around. This brand-new, state-of-the-art centre for Bridgwater is going to offer convenient tests, checks and scans, without a trip to hospital. Community Diagnostic Centres like this one are a vital part of how we’re rebuilding the NHS and getting people seen on time again.”
The centre has been designed with that focus in mind, combining modern clinical environments with the latest diagnostic technology to bring services closer to the communities they serve.
Adam Turner, head of imaging at Somerset FT, said: “This facility will help us provide faster access to vital diagnostic tests, support earlier diagnosis, and make it easier for patients to be cared for closer to home.”
Partnership driving delivery
The project also demonstrates the value of long-term partnerships in helping NHS organisations expand and modernise diagnostic services.
Somerset FT and Ergéa UK have worked together since 2017 to develop diagnostic services across the county. Bridgwater represents the latest stage of that relationship, bringing together shared experience and a clear understanding of local clinical needs.
Mark Graves, chief executive of Ergéa UK, said: “From developing the initial scope and business case through to shaping the equipment strategy and delivering the completed centre, our teams have worked with a shared purpose throughout.”
The partnership brought together the trust’s clinical and operational expertise with Ergéa’s specialist knowledge of diagnostic services, equipment and delivery. This vendor-neutral approach ensured the centre was designed around the needs of patients and clinicians, rather than being driven by the installation of specific technologies or equipment.
Delivering at pace
Speed of delivery was another important element of the project.
As the project’s building partner, Actiform used modern methods of construction (MMC) to support the rapid development of the centre. Key stages could progress in parallel, helping transform an empty site into a fully equipped diagnostic centre in less than a year.
For NHS organisations under pressure to increase capacity, the ability to move from planning to operational space quickly can be as important as the technology ultimately installed within a building.
By bringing together clinical, diagnostic and construction expertise, the project demonstrates how investment in infrastructure can be translated into additional capacity for patients more quickly.
A model for community diagnostics
The Bridgwater CDC shows what can be achieved when NHS organisations and specialist MES partners work around a shared goal.
For NHS organisations considering similar developments, the Bridgwater project demonstrates the value of taking a holistic approach to diagnostic capacity. New scanners and clinical space are only part of the solution. The wider value comes from connecting infrastructure investment with workforce planning, referral pathways, technology strategy and the way services are organised around patients.
A managed service partnership can provide a mechanism for bringing those elements together – supporting NHS organisations not only in delivering new capacity, but in developing and optimising that capacity over the longer term.
Ultimately, the measure of success will be whether this additional capacity translates into shorter waits, more convenient access, earlier diagnosis and better use of hospital resources.
Bridgwater demonstrates how a long-term MES partnership can help turn investment in diagnostic infrastructure into a more accessible, better-connected service for patients while giving the NHS a flexible platform from which to continue transforming diagnostic care.
