Planning approval granted for new MRI building at King’s Mill Hospital
Work is to start immediately on a new purpose-designed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) building at a hospital, after planning approval was granted.
It will be built at Sherwood Forest Hospitals’ King’s Mill Hospital, adjoining the main hospital, to allow patients to be seen quicker and receive diagnoses sooner.
Demand for scans at the hospital have exceeded capacity, with the current mobile scanners regularly in operation over 12 hours per day, seven days a week, while the existing static scanner is more than 12 years old, has exceeded its life-expectancy and become increasingly unreliable.
Ashfield District Council’s planning committee approved the ‘crucial’ project, which will provide space for three scanners on the ground floor; and plant, IT and electrical service rooms on the second floor.
Funded by NHS England, the new building is expected to be fully operational in early 2026.
The radiology team at Sherwood Forest Hospitals have been involved in the design process from the beginning.
Sarah Sentance, radiography services manager, said: “It will transform the MRI service for the trust, particularly from a patient experience perspective.
“All of my team are really excited to be able to offer our patients this amazing facility”
Adam Littler, divisional general manager clinical support, therapies and outpatients division, added: “We will be able to deliver about 15,000 scans per year.
“We are putting two scanners in from the beginning, but there is room for three allowing us to meet on-going demand for our most critical patients, which is a really important step”
The scheme, designed by international architects CPMG, will provide state-of-the-art scanners guaranteeing more efficiency and increased capacity for in-patients as well as complex elective cases; specifically those on an urgent suspected cancer pathway.
Getting rapid diagnosis for conditions such as cancer means patients can access the treatments they need more quickly — key to improving survival rates and quality of life for those suffering from chronic diseases.
