Work on the maternity and neonatal unit at a Welsh hospital which was forced to temporarily shut half its services last year is due to come to an end this month. The maternity and neonatal units at Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend was undergoing a planned renovation in September when heavy rain derailed the work being carried out.
The temporary planned closure was only supposed to be for 12 weeks but the units could not reopen as planned in December due to a severe leak with the hospital’s roof. This mean that all services on the top floor of the hospital had to be moved to other areas of the Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB area while work to repair the roof was carried out.
At the time, the health board said work on the roof would be focused on the area above the maternity and neonatal units in order to allow this area to open first. It is estimated that the replacement of the entire roof is going to cost around £20m to fix and will be completed in summer 2025.
An update from the health board has now said that work on the maternity area is nearing completion and contractors should be able to hand over the units to hospital staff by the end of this month. However an opening date is yet to be confirmed as once the handover is complete, staff will have to work to deep clean, restock and re-commission the area. Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news. You will receive updates from us daily.
A spokesperson for the health board said: “Work to replace the roof of the main building at Princess of Wales Hospital is on schedule and is progressing at pace, with the first phase of this programme of work set to be completed this month.
“This includes maternity and neonatal services areas, which have been prioritised in our plans to return services to the hospital. Once handed back to the health board from our contractors, the areas will undergo a period of deep cleaning, re-commissioning and restocking as we prepare to welcome back our teams to recommence services.
“As this work continues and we begin to return services to the hospital, the safety of our patients and staff will always be our first priority. We thank everyone in our communities for their patience and understanding as we work through this unprecedented situation.” For the latest health and Covid news, sign up to our newsletter here
This means that women could possibly see the service resume at some point in February. The closure of the maternity unit has left many women feeling disappointed with the services they have received while giving birth at neighbouring hospitals. Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil has seen the majority of births that would have been planned for Bridgend relocate there.
This means that the hospital has been busier than usual and many women have had to travel sometimes over an hour to receive their care. One woman told us she faced over a week of delays in getting a medically-needed induction as the ward was too busy to see her, while another told us she spent thousands on a hotel room just to stay close to her baby who was receiving care in the NICU.
The issue with the roof was exacerbated by heavy rainfall in September, however a full structural survey revealed the issues were far graver. The health board described how the hospital was constructed 40 years ago using materials and techniques which have since improved.
They said: “For instance, the roof design did not provide adequate ventilation and this has led to the wooden roof battens, which support the concrete roof tiles, rotting. To provide an idea of the scale of the work required, the POW roof is approximately 10,000 square metres. That’s roughly the equivalent of 166 terraced houses, or 100 four-bedroom detached houses. Essentially, the size of a large housing development.”
The health board has seen big changes over the last three months as a result of disruption to services in the area. The stroke unit at Princes Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil has now closed, moving to Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, as a result of staff shortages. Emergency care for suspected strokes is still being offered at PCH, however the decision has faced a lot of criticism.