Work begins on £17.8 million NHS diagnostic centre in Bridgwater

The first spade hit the ground today (Tuesday 21 October) as construction work began on a brand new diagnostic centre in Bridgwater.

The Bridgwater Diagnostic Centre, which will be run by our trust, with the medical equipment managed by Ergéa, was given conditional planning permission earlier this month, with the building expected to open to patients in early summer 2026.

The new £17.8 million state-of-the-art centre will provide a range of specialist diagnostic and outpatient services to the population of Bridgwater and the surrounding areas.

It follows the opening of a community diagnostic centre in Taunton in 2020, as well as the development of a diagnostic centre next to Yeovil Hospital, which is expected to open in the next few months.

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.

This will enable the centre to provide the Bridgwater population with routine and specialist cardiac and cancer scanning, alongside clinics – very much a one-stop arrangement for appointments.

Adam Turner, our head of imaging, says: “Both our radiology team and I are really excited about the opportunities to bring complex imaging into the community with this new diagnostic centre.

“The high-end equipment planned for this new facility will allow us to perform complex CT and MRI scans that we could previously only perform at Musgrove Park and Yeovil hospitals.

“Not only will it free up much needed capacity on our hospital scanners and help with managing our waiting lists, but this purpose-built centre will also offer a brilliant patient experience.

“Centrally located in the county, and with good transport links, this facility will benefit the whole population of Somerset.”

Mark Graves, director of operations at Ergéa UK, adds: “This important project is a clear example of how innovation and collaboration can come together to benefit patients in Bridgwater.

“Working in partnership with the trust, we are creating a modern, state-of-the-art diagnostic centre designed to transform patient experiences, improve outcomes, and help the NHS reduce waiting list backlogs for the community.”

Stefan Dransfield, managing director at Actiform Ltd, adds: “We’re proud to announce the start of another community diagnostic centre, this time in Bridgwater.

“This exciting new project marks another step forward in delivering high quality, bespoke off site engineered buildings that bring vital diagnostic services closer to home.

“Once complete, the Bridgwater community diagnostic centre will help improve access to healthcare, reduce waiting times, and support earlier diagnosis for the local community.

“At Actiform, we’re passionate about using modern methods of construction to deliver exceptional healthcare environments that meet the needs of both patients and clinicians.

“We’re proud to be supporting the NHS in strengthening healthcare infrastructure and bringing accessible, state of the art diagnostic facilities to Bridgwater."