Gateshead Community Diagnostics Centre
Gateshead, UK - Healthcare
Shaping a community focussed healthcare hub
Gateshead Community Diagnostics Centre (CDC) is a collaboration between Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust based in one of the region's most accessible and well known areas, the Metrocentre. Located in a vacant retail space, Gateshead CDC is a leading example of adaptive reuse. Ryder was appointed to develop the design brief, schedule of accommodation and design proposals to support the project from inception through to completion.
Supporting efficiencies
The outpatient facility collates a range of diagnostics services within a single specialist space. Providing a range of elective diagnostics, the CDC reduces pressure on hospitals throughout both Newcastle and Gateshead and gives patients quicker and more convenient access to tests, in as few visits as possible.
Services provided include respiratory, sleep, echocardiogram and general diagnostics, supported by dedicated specialist ultrasound, CT scanning and MRI scanning facilities.
The project responds to the government’s plan from September 2022 to deliver up to 160 CDCs to support the NHS to carry out up to 17 million tests and relieve the diagnostic and outpatient backlog created since Covid-19.
It is one of the first of its kind, delivering specialist NHS diagnostic facilities outside of a main hospital site, in a primarily retail environment. We carried out extensive stakeholder engagement, briefing and surveys to understand the constraints and overcome them by design.
jobs directly supporting the local economy
appointments per year
Design approach
A key driver of the CDC design was to create a modern, state of the art environment for patients, carers and staff.
The layout supports a positive patient experience, from arriving to a vibrant waiting area, intuitive wayfinding through to examination, treatment and to leaving the building.
A healing environment is embedded across the overall design and is particularly focussed around the imaging technology, with lighting, materials and artwork considered to ensure a calm and relaxing experience.
Clinical and support workflows are also designed with efficiency foremost, including short travel distances, easy access for staff and facilities management requirements, and dedicated welfare and office areas.
Sir Keir Starmer
Prime Minister
Sustainability
Aligning with the NHS’s net zero carbon targets, reusing buildings reduces embodied carbon and offers not only economic efficiency but also environmental responsibility.
By overcoming site challenges, we found several practical benefits. The generous floor-to-floor heights at the Metrocentre allowed for the seamless installation of essential mechanical and electrical systems, such as ventilation and air conditioning.
