Wye Valley Community Diagnostic and Treatment Centre

The Wye Valley Community Diagnostic and Treatment Centre held its official opening in January 2026, marking Architype’s first built NHS project, and a positive step in patient care for Wye Valley NHS Trust in Herefordshire.

Location

Hereford, UK

Area

1800

Status

Completed

Year

2025

Client

Wye Valley NHS Trust

Located on the edge of a retail park on the outskirts of Hereford city centre, the new diagnostic centre helps minimise traffic, parking issues and waiting times by diverting appointments away from the county hospital site. The building provides: MRI, CT, Xray, ECG and Ultrasound diagnostic capacity, as well as phlebotomy, clinical support rooms, consultation/examination rooms, training rooms, workspaces as well as staff welfare amenities.

The building is a continuation of our successful collaboration with Medical Architecture, who provided expert support to the design and delivery process, including advising on the placement of specialist equipment including MRI and CT machines and engaging stakeholders in design development. It builds on our previous work together, including developing plans for a net zero model for new Cavell Centres across the UK.

“The opening of the new community diagnostic centre is a significant milestone for healthcare in Herefordshire and marks a major step forward in bringing healthcare closer to where people live and work.

The calming ambience and friendly environment of the building is proving hugely popular with our patients and our staff members are enjoying the modern facilities and latest diagnostic equipment – an added attraction for colleagues at the trust.”

Russell Hardy, Chairman at Wye Valley NHS Trust

Vision

All vision

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Design

Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) are part of an NHS programme in England and Wales to bring care into the community: rather than attending hospitals for routine clinical appointments, CDCs are there to ease the burden on the NHS and lower waiting times for patients.

The CDC takes a simple, clean form. Its external appearance invokes metal cladding to echo the character of surrounding industrial buildings, using black standing seam aluminium with gold coloured window reveals for a contemporary upgrade. Signage is bold and clear and visitors are welcomed by a warm timber entrance and canopy which will weather to a gentle silver over time, complementing the existing colour palette.

Inside, the main communal space is served by a double height atrium. This provides a navigational landmark for visitors, guiding a path between the stair core and clinical rooms as well as providing discreet supervision from the front desk. Large windows allow plenty of daylight into this space, providing a bright and refreshing waiting area.

Wayfinding, layout and circulation strategies were devised to combine the specific needs of staff, guided by extensive stakeholder consultation, alongside envisioned patient experience and the general technical requirements of specialist equipment. For instance, MRI and CT machines required ground floor placement due to their size and weight, as well as enhanced security for staff and patient safety. Access controlled doors reinforce security in more sensitive areas of the building. ‘Transport zones’ such as stairs and lifts are distinguished through purple paint, contrasting with the teal clinical zones.

Clear wayfinding also supports better accessibility, with intuitive navigation giving way to less visual clutter, and supporting a wider range of support needs including neurodiverse patients and those with language or communication barriers.

The completed scheme achieves BREEAM Excellent with a fabric-first design approach, optimised through iterative PHPP (Passivhaus Planning Package) design assessments, that improves energy efficiency. Early designs were also tested against future climate data to ensure long-term resilience.