Vanguard Healthcare Solutions has completed a new community endoscopy unit in Swindon, designed to expand local diagnostic capacity and support earlier access to investigations. The facility opened on 25 November and is expected to handle around 6,000 procedures in its first year.
Developed in partnership with Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the unit was delivered using modular construction to speed installation and limit disruption on the site. The programme forms part of wider efforts to move more diagnostic activity into community settings and reduce pressure on the hospital.
Julian Auckland-Lewis, programme director, Great Western Hospitals, said: ‘The Department of Health and Social Care is very keen that whenever capital schemes are being pursued, a modular approach is considered for a range of benefits, typically because it can be done faster. And it’s also particularly relevant for this scheme, where you’re building something in a working environment where you’ve got other activities and traffic and pedestrian movement in the area. So, if there’s a degree of construction activity or manufacturing work that you can conduct away from that site and then bring it in prefabricated, it just means less disruption in the area in which you’re placing the building.’
Vanguard worked with clinical, estates and operational teams at the trust to design the unit and optimise patient flow. It includes dedicated space for endoscopic procedures in a setting located close to patients’ homes and workplaces.
Vanguard’s UK business director, Simon Squirrell, said: ‘By having more services that were once only available in larger hospitals, based in the community, people will be able to access care and, in many cases, receive important diagnoses more quickly. We are delighted to be supporting our colleagues in the NHS to deliver even more excellent patient care and essential procedures.’
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