This is what the Rutherford Diagnostics HQ in Liverpool will look like

As work gets underway on the £20m Rutherford Diagnostics HQ, we take a look at what patients can expect inside.

AFL Architects is set to design UK-Wide Programme of Advanced Cancer Diagnostic Facilities, starting with a Liverpool HQ.

AFL Architects is delighted to announce their appointment to support Rutherford Diagnostics as it embarks on an ambitious programme of healthcare development across the UK. The practice was awarded the programme of works contract in 2018 following a competitive tender process and will work with Rutherford Estates as Delivery Partner across the schemes

The first of the facilities going into construction is the five-storey Rutherford Diagnostics HQ building located in Liverpool as part of the £1bn Paddington Village masterplan. The project broke ground in early January, attended by the AFL healthcare team, Proton Partners CEO Mike Moran, and the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson. This HQ building will be directly adjacent to the Rutherford Cancer Centre, which is currently in its later stages of construction.

Sheldon Walsh, Healthcare Director, AFL Architects said:“ We are proud to be Rutherford Diagnostics’ chosen architects to aid them in their journey to become leaders in health and cancer care. The spaces we are creating provide a relaxed non-clinical environment that place high-quality patient experiences at their heart.”

As a subsidiary of Proton Partners International, the Rutherford Diagnostics team will be investing in state-of-the-art diagnostic and research facilities that will include: spectral CT, 3T MRI, digital PET CT, endoscopy and genomics laboratories.

Partnering with education establishments and NHS Trust providers, the Rutherford Diagnostics approach will be collaborative and flexible, aiming to significantly increase the diagnostics capacity in the UK. In doing so it will be their ambition to radically reduce the number of avoidable and unnecessary cancer deaths that are caused by late diagnosis. In tandem with this increased diagnostic provision will be the genomics research that will lead to new personalised treatments.

Dr Steven Powell, Chief Diagnostic Officer, Rutherford Diagnostics said:“ There is a significant shortfall in diagnostic provision in the UK when compared with our European neighbours and this leads to late stage diagnosis. By embarking on this project in partnership with AFL Architects and their wider design team, we will be in part addressing that imbalance. We look forward to our joint future in designing environments that lead to better health outcomes.”

The expansion programme of the Rutherford Diagnostics network means the AFL Architects design team will become an integral partner of both Rutherford Diagnostics and Rutherford Estates.