Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust have signed a long-term lease for a community diagnostic centre in part of the former House of Fraser store at Metrocentre.
Measuring just under 40,000 sq ft, the CDC facility will provide imaging, respiratory investigations and cardiac investigations, with the centre designed to create capacity for increasing referrals.
Sovereign Centros, which manages the centre (pictured), said it marked an important step in improving access to screening and diagnostic services outside of a hospital setting for Gateshead and Newcastle residents.
Plans for the centre are being finalised. Oonce complete, it will offer 145,000 appointments per year and create 134 jobs.
Trudie Davies, chief executive at Gateshead Health, and Dame Jackie Daniel, chief executive at Newcastle Hospitals, said it was an “important project”, adding: “The lease being signed is our next move towards the development of the community diagnostic centre at the Metrocentre.
“The new centre will provide a much-needed boost to diagnostic services in our region and is excellent news for patients in Gateshead and Newcastle.”
Sovereign Centros senior asset manager Ben Cox said: “The letting represents a major milestone in the evolution of the centre. Metrocentre is renowned as a leading retail and leisure destination, but in the future it will also be a key regional location for alternative uses including healthcare.
“Key characteristics of extensive free car parking and superb connectivity to public transport offer occupiers a compelling option when considering where to base themselves. The CDC will bring new jobs and significant new footfall to Metrocentre to the benefit of all our occupiers.”
“This initiative is particularly significant due to the repurposing of the former House of Fraser department store space. Delivering alternative uses to Metrocentre is a key facet of the business plan and this project is a major step in the initial phase of that delivery.”
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