Plans for new radiology building at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital

One of the county’s two main hospitals is to get a new CT and MRI scanning building to increase the capacity of its radiology department.

The plans for the new unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital have been revealed by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SATH) after mobile scanners had to be brought in to help clear a patient backlog.

Routine radiology appointments were temporarily suspended last year in response to the Covid crisis, and as the trust attempted to get the service back up and running a mobile MRI unit was put in place at RSH in October.

Temporary CT and MRI scanners were also installed at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital (PRH).

The trust said at the time that the mobile units would be in place for three months, but that it “also hopes to secure funding for further permanent CT and MRI units, which would come into service in the new year”.

The designs for a new permanent 210 square metre building at RSH have now been lodged with Shropshire Council’s planning department.

A design and access statement by Pinnegar Hayward Design, agent for SATH, says: “The single storey building will provide CT and MRI scanning to day care and staying patients with self-contained changing, toilet, preparation and office facilities.”

The proposed unit, to be built on a grassed square next to the radiology department, will be linked via a connecting lobby to the existing building.

Four car parking spaces will also be provided, along with new walkways and landscaping.

The statement says: “The Shrewsbury Hospital is an existing medical facility and the proposal will maintain this use.

“The proposal seeks to provide a new MRI and CT scanning facility which will enhance the existing day to day working of the hospital.

“The proposals meet with the requirements of the trust and governing HTM (health technical memoranda) guidelines.”

The building will be lower in height than the adjacent two-storey building, and has been designed to be “in keeping with the existing hospital”, the statement says.

The planning application will now be decided by Shropshire Council.