Disruption at Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend

 

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board recently issued the following statement regarding urgent repairs required at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.

What is wrong with the roof at POW?

Ongoing issues with rainwater entering the building prompted a full structural survey of the roof of the main building. A detailed report into the state of the roof was received on 9 October 2024 and revealed serious deterioration that will require a substantial programme of repair.

What are you doing?

We are now exploring all options to enable us to carry out work to the roof while continuing to provide care in a safe environment for those patients and staff who are currently accommodated 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 estate to ensure we have the capacity to meet all our patients’ needs.

To be clear, this is more serious than blocked gutters. Much of the roof of the hospital was constructed 40 years ago, and techniques and materials have improved considerably in that time. For instance, the roof design did not provide for adequate ventilation and this has led to the wooden roof battens, which support the concrete roof tiles, rotting.

Our first priority is to ensure patients and staff are safe. We are simultaneously working to deliver on this priority and to understand programme of work that will be required to bring the roof to an acceptable, modern standard.

The health board leadership team is treating this as an absolute priority and has declared an internal critical incident. We will share more details about our plans as soon as possible.

What does this mean for patients?

We understand that this will be worrying for patients and families. 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.

While this is an unusual situation, the NHS is very used to responding to unexpected events so we are confident that we will be able to quickly put plans in place to ensure our patients can 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. At this time, patients and families do not need to do anything unless they are contacted directly or spoken to by staff.

We are very grateful to our patients, the public and our staff for their understanding and cooperation as we manage this complex situation.

Published: Oct 11, 2024