The new £4.4m Emergency Department at Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales has today been officially opened by the Health Minister Mark Drakeford.
The department is one of the busiest in the UK with more than135,000 people attending every year, which is equivalent to 370 people seeking help every day.
The new unit will significantly improve the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board’s ability to manage emergency patients more efficiently at UHW.
It will provide a safer and more practical working environment for staff who aim to provide an emergency service in line with the best in the UK.
The total cost of the project was £4.412m – £2.657m was provided by the Welsh Government and the remainder by the health board. Charitable donations, including endowments, from patients and their families, paid for some of the new furnishings in the department.
The new department includes:
- A seven-trolley bay rapid assessment area;
- 10 assessment trolley bays for the most seriously injured or sick patients;
- Six adult resuscitation bays;
- A dedicated paediatric resuscitation bay;
- Minor injuries unit, including 10 examination/treatment spaces; one suturing/dressings cubicle; one ophthalmology cubicle; two trolley GP streaming cubicles and one mental health cubicle.
The unit also has new reception and waiting areas and improved areas for emergency ambulance access to the hospital.
During the visit, the Health Minister confirmed that he has also agreed extra funding of £123,000 for medical equipment for the new unit.
Professor Drakeford said:
“I’m delighted to officially open the new emergency department.
“I am confident this new unit will help to meet and deliver improved services and care to the public and provide a safer and more practical working environment for staff.
“It will also help staffing and diagnostic resources to be used effectively to ensure patients receive the treatment they need as quickly as possible.”
Adam Cairns, Chief Executive of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said:
“The new unit looks fantastic and has been designed using best practices from across the UK. It will provide a better equipped, more comfortable space for the public and the staff who provide that care.
“This has been a really challenging project – a real team effort to deliver such dramatic improvements whilst maintaining 24/7 emergency care on site. I want to thank staff at the planning and estates team who delivered the project, the EU staff who kept services running in tough conditions and our partners at the Welsh Ambulance Service who have been a great help during this disruptive period.
“For a long time we’ve had the staff to be proud of at the EU and now they have a facility they can take pride in too.”
