A new mini hospital is set to take over an empty department store and could open in a matter of months. The hospital will replace the former Debenhams in Basildon’s Eastgate Shopping Centre. While it will be for private appointments, the new hospital will be open 24 hours a day, and it's expected that about 80 per cent of its work will be for the NHS.
It comes as the new Pitsea Community Diagnostic Centre in Northlands Pavement is expected to be open next autumn, according to Gavin Callaghan, Labour leader of Basildon Council.
Last October, the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust took ownership of the former community centre in Pitsea, including the library next door, ahead of construction. According to the NHS, it will be the largest diagnostic centre locally and will offer an eight-room endoscopy unit and CT and MRI scanning facilities.
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Mr Callaghan added: “Work has begun on the hospital. The ground floor and middle floor is going to be a new private hospital, it’s going to be doing about 80 per cent NHS work, helping to clear the Covid backlog, they are hoping to have the first phase open by the autumn this year.
“The Pitsea Community Diagnostic Centre [is] thanks to the hard work of councillors that we’ve got the funding in place for that. Demolition is moving along really fast. They are just about to finish that. The NHS has procured the construction firm. This is going to open in the autumn of 2026.
"Again, it's a massive positive for Pitsea; there are going to be about 200,000 people using X-rays, radiography, and all other methods every year. It will boost footfall, be great for traders, great for the market and area.”
