A groundbreaking ceremony has officially marked the start of a significant construction project at the heart of Boston to create a new £24.9 million community diagnostic centre.
Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group Chief Executive Professor Karen Dunderdale was joined by Boston Borough Council Leader Councillor Dale Broughton, MTX Project Lead Chris Dodd and the Lincolnshire Community Diagnostic Centre Programme Estates Director, Alistair Nelson, to break ground on the former Boston United football ground on York Street.
The event signals the start of 20 weeks of demolition work. Once the ground is cleared, construction will begin on the building, which will include two new MRI scanners, two new CT scanners, X-ray facilities, three ultrasound rooms, a DEXA scanner, a further eight consultation rooms and dedicated space for audiology services.
It is expected Boston Community Diagnostic Centre will support up to 70,000 patients with diagnostic testing and other clinics each year.
Prof Dunderdale said: “Our teams have been working for a considerable amount of time behind the scenes to realise our ambition to have a community diagnostic centre in Boston. It is a privilege to be a part of this improvement, which not only brings additional testing capacity to support our patients in this part of Lincolnshire, but also transforms a space in the community which has sat empty and unused for some time. We are excited to see this project take shape over the coming year.”
The Boston Community Diagnostic Centre is scheduled to open to patients in spring 2027. Over the coming weeks, the existing stadium will be dismantled and the site cleared, ready to start groundworks in preparation for the new building.
The Boston Community Diagnostic Centre will be the fourth such facility to be created in the county by Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group (LCHG), and will offer a wide range of NHS diagnostic services.
Once complete, it will provide two new MRI scanners, two new CT scanners, X-ray facilities, three ultrasound rooms, and a further eight consultation rooms, including dedicated space for audiology services.
The site will also include 115 parking spaces for visiting patients and parking for mobile diagnostic service vehicles.
A number of new services and pathways have already been developed for patients through the community diagnostic centre programme.
This includes the rapid access angina pathway, which has significantly reduced how long it takes for specialist review and diagnosis for patients with heart conditions, and one-stop memory assessment clinics run in partnership with local NHS mental health services, where patients can have all the tests they need in one visit rather than over multiple appointments.
Working in partnership with local GP services, Grantham, Lincoln and Skegness community diagnostic centres are also offering physiological testing services, such as blood tests and ECGs, to support faster and easier access in the community.
Lincoln and Skegness are also now home to extra ‘kitten scanners’, helping our youngest patients to access play therapy in advance of MRI scans, to help them feel at ease and prevent the need for general anaesthetic and hospital stays.
