Wiltshire Council<\/a> in July, with construction anticipated to begin in early 2027 if permission is granted.\n<\/p>\n\n The project is backed by \u00a377.5m of NHS funding, although the total cost is expected to exceed \u00a380m, leaving the trust to cover the funding gap through its own resources and further capital.\n<\/p>\n
\n Originally, the plans focused on replacing the hospital\u2019s existing day surgery unit.\n<\/p>\n
\n However, after NHS funding was paused in 2025, the scheme was re\u2011evaluated and combined with another planned project: the Community Diagnostic Centre.\n<\/p>\n
\n Following a thorough review, both projects were merged to form the current proposal for a single integrated hub, bringing surgery and diagnostics together in one building.\n<\/p>\n
\n Edmund Ellert, head of estates capital at the trust, said: \u201cEvery cloud has a silver lining \u2014 we’ve just got to actually sometimes make that silver, or find it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Under the proposals, DASH will be dedicated exclusively to day-surgery patients, with no inpatient wards within the hub.\n<\/p>\n
\n By separating planned care from emergency and inpatient services, the trust aims to improve patient flow and reduce delays, giving day\u2011surgery patients a smoother journey from admission through to operation and discharge.\n<\/p>\n
\n At present, planned day\u2011surgery lists can be disrupted when urgent emergency cases come in, forcing operations to be postponed and adding to waiting times. The new hub is designed to protect elective procedures from that pressure, so patients are more likely to be treated on the day they expect.\n<\/p>\n
\n Some parts of buildings in the hospital grounds were constructed during the Second World War, and the trust says the new hub will help bring services up to modern standards, both in terms of equipment and layout.\n<\/p>\n
\n The design eliminates the need for separate anaesthetic rooms, as patients will now receive anaesthetic treatment inside the operating theatre itself.\n<\/p>\n
\n Julia Gregory, from the trust\u2019s capital projects team, said: \u201cClinically, it’s also a little bit safer because you’re not moving an anaesthetised patient from one room into another and changing from one set of kit to another.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n She said the change should reduce risks linked to moving patients while they are anaesthetised and make the process feel more straightforward for patients and staff.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Ellert acknowledged the scale and ambition of the project.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cIt’s innovative, what we’re doing, and innovation in healthcare can be dangerous.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe’ve got to make sure that this new layout is repeatable.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n One challenge highlighted during the consultation is the loss of more than 100 staff parking spaces during construction.\n<\/p>\n
\n The trust plans to demolish unoccupied and derelict buildings to create replacement parking, but staff will face temporary disruption while the hub is built.\n<\/p>\n
\n The existing helipad will also be relocated, though the new location has not yet been confirmed.\n<\/p>\n
\n Trust officials say public and patient parking will not be affected.\n<\/p>\n
\n On Tuesday, July 7, a public consultation event was held, inviting the public to share feedback and learn more about the plans through display boards, presentations and conversations with the project team.\n<\/p>\n
\n One visitor to the event, Ms Jen Grant, said she welcomed investment but was concerned about the impact on hospital staff who already struggle to park.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt bothers me that they will lose some of the staff parking because it’s always a nightmare for them, and although they say they’re doing other things like bicycles and the park and ride, sometimes that’s just not practical.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThey’ve got other plans in the pipeline which haven’t come to fruition yet, so is this actually going to happen?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Project manager James Day, who joined the scheme in November 2025, believes it could serve as a regional model.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Day said: \u201cThe combining of diagnostic and surgery within the same building creates efficiencies between those.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cYou cut down on circulation space, and it becomes more efficient and more cost\u2011effective.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cAll the headlines right now are about NHS waiting times and budgets, and this can combat that.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt’s exciting; it’s a really good\u2011looking project.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI’m not a surgeon or a doctor, but my part in this enables them to do their part in healthcare.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Edmund Ellert, head of estate capital, said the trust hopes patients will begin receiving treatment at the hub by autumn 2028, subject to planning approval and construction going to schedule.\n<\/p>\n
\n The trust is encouraging local people to use the consultation period to give their views on the plans and raise any concerns, so the final design reflects what patients, staff and the wider community want from the future of Salisbury District Hospital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The hospital could soon be home to a brand-new centre for surgery and diagnostics, bringing together operating theatres,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682054,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-682053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}