East Norfolk’s new Community Diagnostic Centre opens at Northgate Hospital

Morgan Sindall Construction’s Eastern Counties business has delivered a new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at Great Yarmouth’s Northgate Hospital. This facility will significantly boost the availability of scanning and diagnostics services for East Norfolk and Waveney residents.

The tier one contractor was appointed by James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (JPUH), whose clinical teams and staff will run the CDC, and the project was procured via the Pagabo construction framework.

Patients began using the centre in late April following the early handover of the CT scanner area and main reception. In August, the centre’s other services, including cardiac and lung diagnostics, came online as new consultation rooms were opened at the former Cranbrook Building on the Northgate Hospital site. In late September, the last phase of construction was completed with the installation of a new drainage system.

To create the centre, a comprehensive, £8 million refurbishment of Northgate Hospital’s existing two-storey Cranbrook building was undertaken. Thanks to this work, the building now incorporates a CT Scanner, which can help diagnose conditions and monitor the progress of treatment, as well as cardiac and lung function diagnostic tests.

To upgrade the site’s capabilities, Morgan Sindall built three extensions and renovated the building’s interior. The three extensions house the CT scan room, control area and facilities; a plant room; and a new fire escape stairwell.

Internally, the Cranbrook building was stripped back to its shell, which required installing a new structure to support the building while old load bearing walls were removed. The site was then completely refitted, including all new floors, coverings, walls, doors and an M&E system. The project team also completely retiled the roof and added new insulation to the flat roof areas.

Alongside new staff facilities, office space, and amenities, the building’s ground floor includes the main reception, two echocardiogram rooms, three consulting rooms, and one treatment room. Upstairs, the centre hosts five treatment rooms, two consulting rooms, and respiratory.

As much of the CDC’s staff also work in the James Paget University Hospital, its specification was kept intentionally similar to the hospital to ensure that clinicians are familiar with the environment.

The renovation has made the building more cost-effective and sustainable to operate, thanks to the use of modern, high-quality materials and the efficiency benefits generated by the new M&E system as well as the upgraded roof, insulation, and windows. The project’s carbon footprint was also minimised by repurposing an existing facility and bringing it up to a modern specification, rather than demolishing the building and constructing a new one.

Due to the age of the building, the Morgan Sindall team had to utilise its Intelligent Solutions approach to construction to implement temporary works, structural alterations and load bearing solutions which opened up the floor plan and allowed the renovation to continue at pace.

Throughout the project, the Morgan Sindall team ensured the renovation, as well as the necessary logistics and deliveries, did not affect Northgate Hospital’s vital operations. This required scheduling activity around the hospital’s teams and their work to minimise any potential disruption.

As part of Morgan Sindall’s social value commitment, local students were given the opportunity to work on the project to gain valuable experience. This included two work experience placements, one of which has since been employed as an apprentice.

The site team also arranged for students at the local East Coast College in Lowestoft to manufacture bespoke children’s play equipment, utilising skills the students had developed during their course. This equipment was donated to a Primary School in Great Yarmouth for their reception class to use.