Patients at a Kent hospital waiting for MRI scans have to sit in their cars due to a lack of space.

The MRI unit at Buckland Hospital, Dover, currently doesn’t have a waiting or reception area, means people sometimes have to sit in their cars until they are called if there are too many patients.

Now, health care provider 2gether Support Solutions, has put in a planning application to replace the present the current space.

The proposals would increase the unit’s floor space from 96sq m to 99sq m.

In a written submission to Dover District Council, the applicant's agents, Hazle McCormack Young, told Dover District Council: “The existing MRI unit at Buckland Hospital is an important resource for the local area and community.

“There is however a logistical problem. The existing unit does not incorporate a waiting or reception area, hence patients currently have to wait in their vehicles/elsewhere if there is a backlog of patients waiting for their appointment.

“This can prove to be an operational challenge.”

The chartered accountants, of Tunbridge Wells, added: “The new unit will incorporate a waiting/reception area, with improved facilities, allowing this problem to be overcome and will also provide a superior facility to the existing unit. Hence this is a very important proposed development project for the hospital.”

No public comments have been made on the council's planning portal but Dover Town Council wrote in to express support for the application.

The firm 2gether Support Solutions is a subsidiary owned by East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust and is based at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

An MRI scan creates detailed images of most parts of the body including vital organs, bones, muscles and blood vessels.

The scans check for conditions such as cancer, soft tissue injuries such as ligament damage and joint injuries.