Urgent roof repair work to take place at Princess of Wales Hospital

Following ongoing issues at Princess of Wales Hospital with rain water entering the building through the roof, specialist contractors have conducted a full survey of the condition of the roof of the main building across the site.

As well as informing some immediate actions, that survey has identified more serious internal long-term damage to the roof of the hospital that will require an extensive programme of replacement and repair.

We are dealing with this as a critical incident, and are now exploring all options to ensure we can continue to provide care in a safe environment for those patients and staff in our wards and those who will need care in the future. The options will need to include the use of the whole health board’s facilities to ensure we have the capacity to meet all our patients’ needs.

We are treating this work as a priority and will continue to communicate with people directly and through the range of channels available to us.

Paul Mears, Chief Executive of Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board said: “The safety of our staff and patients on site remains our top priority, and we are taking immediate action to bring the roof, which is more the 40 years old, up to an acceptable and modern standard.

“We fully appreciate how this is both concerning and disruptive for patients and their families, but we are committed to putting these plans in place to ensure our patients continue to be cared for properly and safely.

“This will involve some health board services and care being provided in a different place. We are currently working through these options to ensure that this causes minimal disruption to patients.

“While this is a significant situation, moving patients is not unusual – it regularly takes place to enable patients to receive scans, or receive treatment. Our staff are very used to responding quickly to ensure continuity of patient care during challenging times.”

The Health Board is advising people that they should continue to attend planned appointments at the hospital unless they are contacted directly by the health board. They are also reminding people that they can help us during this busy period by only attending the emergency department if their condition is critical or life threatening.

10/10/2024