Hospital's £70m surgical hub reaches key milestone

A new £70m diagnostic and surgical hub has reached an "important milestone" as planning permission is granted.

Salisbury District Hospital's leaders said they hope the new hub, which will include five surgical theatres, an MRI scanner and a CT scanner, will reduce delays and improve patient experience.

Wiltshire Council granted planning permission for the project on Thursday, which hospital chiefs described as an "important milestone".

However, they still need to secure the final approval from the Department for Health and HM Treasury, which they anticipate will happen over the next few months.

The announcement comes a few months after the hospital was rated as "requires improvement" for its surgical services, with inspectors warning there was "uncertainty" about whether some medical instruments were safe to use.

A spokesperson from Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust said they were "delighted" to secure the hub's planning permission.

"This is a really important milestone and takes us another significant step towards delivering this major development.

"There is still work to do before the main construction can begin, but securing planning permission is an important and very welcome step forward," they said.

The hub will also include four endoscopy procedure rooms, recovery areas and staff changing rooms.

It is planned to be constructed on the site of the hospital's existing helipad, which will be relocated to another area.

Nick Johnson, the trust's managing director, previously said: "The new facility will replace our ageing surgical facilities, expand our diagnostic capacity, and provide modern, purpose-built environments that will enable us to see patients more quickly and deliver high-quality care for many years to come."

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