Construction firm Kier has completed work on the Rutherford Diagnostic Centre Somerset in Taunton.

The centre is the first community diagnostics centre of its kind in England – run by Rutherford Diagnostics Limited, a subsidiary of Rutherford Health PLC in partnership with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and will specifically provide diagnostic testing for the people of Somerset.

The centre was officially opened by the renowned cancer specialist, Professor Sir Mike Richards CBE, former National Cancer Director in the Department of Health and author of an independent review of NHS diagnostics capacity. The report, Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal, says major expansion and reform of diagnostic services is needed to facilitate recovery from the pandemic and to meet rising demand. One of the report’s key recommendations is the development of community diagnostic hubs away from acute hospital sites.

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Kier has converted the ground floor of the existing building on Blackbrook Park Avenue into this new diagnostic centre which includes a range of first-class facilities and equipment provided by Rutherford’s technology partner Philips, including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT), Ultrasound and X-Ray technology. In addition to providing services to NHS patients, the centre will be available to private medical insurance and self-pay patients in the south west.

Working with local supply chain partners in the south west of England, Kier completed the project two weeks ahead of schedule for Rutherford Diagnostics and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.

Jason Taylor, operations director for Kier Construction Western & Wales, commented: "The Rutherford Diagnostic Centre is a pioneering new centre that has been created to effectively provide the local community with easy access to diagnostic testing facilities. Working with our local supply chain partners, we have carefully transformed the building into a state-of-the-art space which has first-class facilities.

"We are extremely proud to have delivered this new centre which we hope will effectively serve the Somerset community for years to come."