Plans to create a temporary endoscopy unit near Sulis Hospital Bath to bring down lengthy waiting lists have been approved.
The Sulis Hospital | Photo © Sulis / RUH
The hospital, which is based at Bath Business Park at Peasedown St John, is a Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) hub.
Endoscopy procedures are essential for diagnosing serious conditions, such as cancer and heart disease.
The hospital was opened in 2010 by Circle Health and bought by the NHS in 2021.
The Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, which manages Sulis, has secured funding to increase diagnostic capacity within the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire health region, which has the largest number of patients waiting for endoscopy investigations in the South West.
As the Sulis site isn’t big enough for the extra capacity, the trust lodged a planning application with Bath & North East Somerset Council for undeveloped land at the rear of the nearby Care Fertility Centre at Roman Way.
The temporary endoscopy unit, which was given the go-ahead last week, will be made up of three mobile trailers.
A report from council planners said: “The impact of the Covid pandemic has had a profound and lasting impact on healthcare delivery, with ongoing procedural backlog.
“In order to meet the national standards and reduce the backlog, the RUH needs to address the backlog of patients waiting for colonoscopy, gastroscopy, and flexi-sigmoidoscopy.
“The proposed mobile endoscopy unit would provide much-needed extra space required to provide essential endoscopy procedures. This would offer significant community health benefits.”
The scheme includes parking for 13 staff and patients, including provision for three accessible bays, and two cycle spaces.
The application said the site will be restored within two years.
Earlier this year the council approved plans for a new orthopaedic centre at Sulis Hospital Bath to cut waiting times for patients in the city and wider region.
