Over the coming weeks, the existing stadium will be dismantled and the site cleared, ready to start groundworks in preparation for the new building.
The Boston Community Diagnostic Centre will be the fourth such facility to be created in the county by Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group (LCHG), and will offer a wide range of NHS diagnostic services.
Once complete, it will provide two new MRI scanners, two new CT scanners, X-ray facilities, three ultrasound rooms, and a further eight consultation rooms, including dedicated space for audiology services.
The site will also include 115 parking spaces for visiting patients and parking for mobile diagnostic service vehicles.
Daren Fradgley, LCHG Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Integration Officer, said: “This marks the start of the next exciting chapter of our Lincolnshire Community Diagnostic Centre Programme.
“Community diagnostic centres make it quicker and easier to access the tests patients need as part of their care. The additional testing capacity away from our very busy hospital sites means these planned appointments are less likely to be delayed by emergencies, and vice versa, leaves space on our hospital lists for patients who need tests quickly on our wards and within urgent and emergency care services.
“The feedback we’ve had from patients about our community diagnostic centres in Grantham, Lincoln and Skegness has been overwhelmingly positive and we hope to replicate this in Boston. We want to be ambitious with the opportunities that we have to deliver care differently and make access to care better for patients. This includes working to develop new services in partnership with other health providers across Lincolnshire.”
A number of new services and pathways have already been developed for patients through the community diagnostic centre programme.
This includes the rapid access angina pathway, which has significantly reduced how long it takes for specialist review and diagnosis for patients with heart conditions, and one-stop memory assessment clinics run in partnership with local NHS mental health services, where patients can have all the tests they need in one visit rather than over multiple appointments.
Working in partnership with local GP services, Grantham, Lincoln and Skegness community diagnostic centres are also offering physiological testing services, such as blood tests and ECGs, to support faster and easier access in the community.
Lincoln and Skegness are also now home to extra ‘kitten scanners’, helping our youngest patients to access play therapy in advance of MRI scans, to help them feel at ease and prevent the need for general anaesthetic and hospital stays.
It is anticipated that the Boston Community Diagnostic Centre will be ready to welcome its first patients in spring 2027.
Councillor Dale Broughton, Leader of Boston Borough Council, said: “I am delighted to hear about the demolition of the former football stadium on York Street, which has sat derelict for more than five years now.
“The construction of a new £24.9 million NHS community diagnostic centre marks a huge investment into the future health of our community, we are proud to support this project and look forward to seeing the centre take shape and seeing it welcome its first patients in 2027.”
Modern Methods of Construction specialist MTX Contracts Ltd is partnering with LCHG to design and build the Boston Community Diagnostic Centre. MTX previously built the community diagnostic centres at Lincoln and Skegness, and is currently working to extend the Lincoln centre to provide additional facilities.