More than £1.8million of Welsh Assembly Government funding will be invested to modernise the electrical equipment in the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, the Health Minister, Edwina Hart, has announced.
The funding will enable the electrical infrastructure – the majority of which dates back to 1970s – to be replaced.
The investment is part of a phased redevelopment of the hospital.
The Royal Gwent Hospital has expanded considerably since it opened and now provides general and specialist inpatient and outpatient services.
In recent years, the hospital has benefited from a new cardiology unit, medical day case unit, medical admissions unit, paediatric emergency department, complete refurbishment of the outpatient facilities and a £5m ophthalmology and otolaryngology unit. Work has also been completed on an expansion to the maternity unit, with two new obstetric operating theatres, high dependency beds, extra delivery rooms and a six-bed post operative support ward.
Work on replacing the electrical infrastructure is expected to be completed by November 2011.
Last week, the Health Minister reaffirmed her commitment to developing the Specialist Critical Care Centre. However, development of the plans and construction are some years away and in the meantime, investment is required to maintain services at the Royal Gwent Hospital.
Mrs Hart said:
“We need to ensure our hospitals are in the very best condition in order to deliver high quality and sustainable care for patients.
“This investment will enable services to be maintained during the planning and development of the Specialist and Critical Care Centre.”
David Jenkins, chair of Aneurin Bevan Health Board – which runs the Royal Gwent Hospital – said:
“We are delighted to be receiving funding to modernise the electrical equipment in the Royal Gwent Hospital, enabling us to continue to provide excellent services for our patients whilst we await the development of the Specialist Critical Care Centre.”
