New winter surge facility for up to 400 patients to be built next to Wales’ largest hospital
A new 400-bed facility will be built next to Wales’ largest hospital to manage any increase in Covid-19 cases this winter.
The building, next to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, will follow the decommissioning of the Dragon’s Heart Hospital at the Principality Stadium.
Health minister Vaughan Gething announced £33 million of funding for the new Cardiff and Vale University Health Board inpatient facility on Monday.
“This investment will help Cardiff and Vale University Health Board manage any potential increase in admissions caused by Covid-19 in what is likely to be a challenging winter for health and social care services,” Mr Gething said.
“We know the winter can present greater difficulty for NHS staff, and with the virus more likely to spread in colder conditions we need to ensure we have the bed capacity to cope with increased demand.”
He said further actions to be taken across health and social care would be announced through the publication of a Winter Protection Plan.
Later this month, the Welsh Government will outline additional funding for other health boards to ensure enough bed capacity across the country.
Len Richards, chief executive of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: “We are pleased that the Welsh Government has announced this funding for a modular build surge inpatient facility on site at University Hospital of Wales.
“This is welcome news and will support our planning for increased capacity of up to 400 additional patients in response to the current modelling predictions and a second wave of Covid-19.
“The build will be aligned to the de-commissioning programme of the Dragon’s Heart Hospital at the Principality Stadium which we will have vacated by the end of October and will enable the Welsh Rugby Union to start making their own plans at the stadium.
“As a health service we will take on board all of the learning from Dragon’s Heart Hospital in terms of design and clinical requirements for a temporary surge hospital and work to the national modelling requirements.”
Copyright (c) PA Media Ltd. 2020, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
