A vital health facility in Taunton has been secured for at least the next 15 years following a new deal with local health bosses.

The Taunton Diagnostic Centre opened its doors in September 2021, allowing patients to have a range of tests and access numerous different health services without having to travel to Musgrove Park Hospital.

The facility’s future seemed in jeopardy in June when Rutherford Health, the company tasked with running it on behalf of the NHS, went into liquidation.

The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has now announced a new partnership with Alliance Medical Ltd., which will run the centre until at least 2037.

The Taunton Diagnostic Centre was created by redeveloping the Zenith Fire Control Centre on Blackbrook Park Avenue, which was meant to be used as a regional centre to handle 999 calls but was never used.

Work began to convert the building – which had lain vacant since 2007 – after planning permission was granted by Somerset West and Taunton Council in September 2020.

Since the building opened, the percentage of NHS patients in Somerset waiting more than six weeks for a diagnostic test has halved, dropping from 45.8 per cent in September 2021 to 23 per cent in September 2022.

The facility, which provides MRI and CT scans along with X-rays and ultrasound, was visited by then-prime minister Boris Johnson in January 2022.

Peter Lewis, chief executive of the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The Taunton Diagnostic Centre is a real asset to the NHS in Somerset and has made a significant contribution to our ability to be able to diagnose and treat NHS patients as quickly as possible.

“When our previous partners, Rutherford Health, went into liquidation in June, we stepped in to run the centre on a short-term basis.

“Now I am delighted that we have formed a strong partnership with Alliance Medical to run the centre and continue providing an excellent service to Somerset patients.

“The centre helps us to prioritise the capacity that we have available at Musgrove Park Hospital for emergency patients or those who are already in the hospital.

“This is not only good for our patients, but also the way we care for people
across the whole Somerset healthcare system by enabling them to have imaging scans away from the acute hospital.”

Alliance Medical managing director Richard Evans added: “We are delighted to
be partnering with the trust to deliver the Taunton Diagnostic Centre.

“There is no doubt that the centre has made a big impact on improving access to diagnostics in the wider Taunton area, and we look forward to taking this centre to the next stages of its development.

“We see great potential to marry our wide experience on delivery of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) across the UK and in Europe, and making Taunton Diagnostic Centre an exemplar of how CDCs can really
operate collaboratively, ultimately for the benefit of the end user – our patients.”