Well-advanced talks could see part of a former department store converted into a specialist medical unit designed to take the pressure off a hospital.

The old Debenhams in Chatham High Street is currently undergoing a £730,000 revamp after being left empty since January 2020.

It is hoped the ground floor will be converted into an elective care centre, freeing up space and reducing waiting lists at Medway Maritime in Gillingham.

Different discussions have taken place involving the hospital trust, the Department for Health, and Medway Council, which bought the building for £2.2 million three years ago.

The Towns’ three MPs, Lauren Edwards, Naushabah Khan, and Tristan Osborne, have been lobbying the government for support.

They met with Health Minister Karin Smyth who then raised the matter with Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

If the plan was to be approved and financed, it would cater for non-emergency work, including diagnostic tests, scans, outpatient appointments, surgeries, and cancer treatments.

Miss Edwards, who represents Rochester and Strood, said discussions are ongoing between the NHS and the council.

She said: “We are lobbying the right people at the top level and have met within the last two weeks.

“It would ease the pressure on Medway Maritime so it can focus on A&E. There’s nothing firm at the moment. It’s all about sorting out funding.”

She also made the point that there would be an economic boost for the town centre with thousands of patients and family members visiting an area they wouldn’t usually.

As well as Medway, the hospital treats people from the wider Sheppey and Sittingbourne parts of neighbouring Swale.

Interim chief executive of Medway NHS Foundation Trust, Jonathan Wade, says they are considering their options.

He said: “Like many trusts, we are exploring how we can increase capacity to treat patients sooner, both at the hospital and off-site, and we are assessing how a centre for planned NHS care could support this.

“Any proposals would be subject to funding, planning considerations, and engagement with our local community and partners.”

The works currently underway in the building began in March and were financed through the government’s One Public Estate Brownfield Land Release Fund.

Including the removal of floor covers, ceilings, and existing partitions, as well as mechanical and electrical services, they are expected to be completed this summer.

Cabinet member for health, Cllr Teresa Murray, said: “We have been in talks with the Trust ever since we came into administration.

“While it’s still very much on the table, nothing has been agreed.

“We know they want to decongest the Medway (hospital) site and refurbish the wards as well as cut waiting lists.

“We are keen to get health into the High Street and it joins the dots with the healthy living centre in the Pentagon.

“We are keen to get things moving.”

The authority purchased the premises in June 2022 using a grant from the government’s Future High Streets Fund.

As well as a possible health facility, the five-storey building is also earmarked for housing.

The latest Debenhams’ developments comes as work is well underway to transform a substantial area in the nearby Pentagon shopping centre into a healthy living centre.

The NHS has contributed the lion’s share of the funding, putting forward in total £13.4 million for the project which will be named after James Williams.

He was Medway’s popular director of public health, who passed away a year ago after a short illness.