NEW BUILD CDC


Patient-focused design in the Wye Valley


Paul Neep, associate at Architype, Adrian Speller, managing director of Speller Metcalfe, and Bob Wills, director of Medical Architecture, discuss their work on the recently opened Wye Valley NHS Trust Community Diagnostic and Treatment Centre in Hereford, which has been designed with a patient-focused approach to provide a reassuring environment for imaging and testing.


Designed by Architype and Medical Architecture for Wye Valley NHS Trust, and constructed by Speller Metcalfe via the NHS ProCure23 (P23) framework, the £18m Wye Valley NHS Trust Community Diagnostic and Treatment Centre is part of a national initiative to boost NHS diagnostic capacity by providing Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) in local communities close to people’s homes, making services more convenient and accessible. The P23 framework enabled early engagement of the full project team, supporting a highly collaborative approach throughout design and construction. The building was officially opened by The Department of Health and Social Care Minister, Stephen Kinnock, and accommodates a range of services, from easily accessible blood testing facilities to more complex diagnostic imaging, including X-ray, CT, and MRI. Located adjacent to a well-connected retail park and


open seven days a week, the facility is easily accessible for local residents. This enables routine diagnostic tests to take place away from the local county hospital in an environment that is more accessible and less clinical. It also relieves capacity pressure and traffic at the hospital site by reducing the need for outpatient visits.


A less clinical and more patient focused environment Attending a diagnostic centre can be a daunting and uncomfortable experience. As a result, the building’s internal spaces have been designed to provide a calming and reassuring environment. While the building form is organised around the careful operation of highly complex technical equipment, the interior has been considered to engage with patients, staff, and visitors on a more human level. The double height waiting and entrance foyer acts like a town square, providing a natural gathering space and a landmark, and helping to orientate unfamiliar users as they move through the interior. Helpful visual cues are provided instead of directional instructions with complex and intimidating technical wording. This bespoke interior design and wayfinding strategy employs distinctive colours and graphic iconography to identify different space types, improving legibility and accessibility for a broad range of users. By removing unnecessary visual clutter, the interior spaces feel more familiar, and less institutional in their character.


Visitor movement through the building has informed


the arrangement of spaces and facilities so that patients requiring a quick blood test can do so conveniently close to the entrance and waiting area, while those requiring more intrusive procedures are afforded greater


Top: The exterior of the Wye Valley NHS Trust Community Diagnostic and Treatment Centre.


Above: The ground floor plan.


Left: Schematic of sustainability features.


October 2026 Health Estate Journal 139


All photos: Richard Chivers


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