CHANGES are afoot for the layout of Thurrock Community Hospital on Long Lane in Stifford Clays as it expands to meet the demands of accomodating services relocated from Orsett Hospital.

The community hospital has been earmarked to become one of the four promised integrated medical centres pledged by the Mid and South Essex Hospital Trust, that would lead to close of the facility at Orsett.

However, the ambitious plans for new medical centres in Corringham, Tilbury, Grays and Purfleet are now in tatters and the Grays site appears to be picking up some of the allocation of services that should have been spread across the borough.

The Long Lane site, largely run by the Essex Partnership University NHS Trust (EPUT) will be home to a new diagnostics centre and to facilitate its creation, Thurrock Council has given the go ahead to improve roads on the site.

The work will include 16 new parking spaces and a new ambulance bay. Some road corners will also be widened to enable traffic to move around more smoothly.

EPUT and the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust run a variety of other services at the site.

An report to Thurrock Council, said: "The proposal will bring an Improved experience to site visitors who arrive by vehicular transport, and will compliment the new Thurrock Community Diagnostics Centre, which will provide better patient care pathways within the local health network, and deliver more accessible diagnostics care within the local community."

It added: "This will include widening a number of corners to enable ease in manoeuvrability for vehicles, an additional sixteen car park spaces to mitigate unauthorised parking within the site, and the creation of one extra ambulance bay to enable easier drop-off and pick-up by the hospital's Mayfield Unit building.

"These proposals will remedy the site's current issues identified, enabling minimal disruption during construction of the Thurrock Community Diagnostics Centre, and provide an ease of experience for visitors to the site."

The report goes on to say the centre will offer a range of services including X-ray, ultrasound, CT scans, MRIs, heart and lung checks, blood tests.

The site includes low level buildings as well as Thameside House, Draycott House, and an administration block.

The scheme will see more car parking and an additional ambulance bay to the Mayfield Unit, 'formalising parking where vehicles have been observed parking unauthorised and enabling easier navigation for vehicles driving through this area'.

With the one-way road to through the site now redundant due to the diagnostics building, its conversion into a two-way road will allow for access in and out of the car park adjacent to the centre.