FOUR years after the closure of Withybush SCBU, funding to redevelop facilities for mothers and babies at Glangwili has been announced.

Today (April 12), the Welsh Government has announced £25million funding to move forward with the second phase of improvements to obstetric and neonatal facilities at the Carmarthen hospital.

The work, which is expected to start this summer, will increase the capacity of facilities at Glangwili.

It will include more high dependency cots, special care cots and parent overnight stay rooms, as well as increase the number of birthing rooms, operating theatres and resuscitation bays.

Plans are also in place for an additional 59 car parking spaces.

The extension to the maternity and neonatal unit at Glangwili was given full planning permission by Carmarthenshire County Council on March 27, and the aim is for the scheme to be complete by 2020.

The plans will provide a safe environment for the delivery of obstetric and neonatal services at Glangwili, and address the urgent areas of concern highlighted in the Royal Colleges’ 2015 report into the maternity, neonatal and paediatric services provided by Hywel Dda Health Board.

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services, Vaughan Gething, announced the funding during a visit to Glangwili this morning.

He said: “This funding will improve the clinical quality, safety and innovation at the site.

"It will mean better access to services for patients and their parents, as well as improving the well-being of staff.

"This should significantly improve the patient experience and accommodation for families and, as it is a larger unit, may also reduce the risk of families having to travel out of our area for care due to capacity reasons.”

Hywel Dda University Health Board Chief Executive Steve Moore said: “We welcome this news as women, children and their families deserve to have better accommodation than we are currently able to offer at Glangwili Hospital.

"We hope this provides our population with confidence that we will now proceed with pace to make these improvements.”

The plans include:

  • Neonatal Unit - 4 high dependency cots plus 1 stabilisation cot, 2 single cot nursery spaces plus 1 isolation lobby, 8 special care cots and 2 double parent overnight stay rooms;
  • Labour Ward – 5 standard birthing rooms, 1 birthing room with pool, and 6 bedded higher dependency area;
  • Obstetric Theatres – 2 operating theatres, 2*2 cot resuscitation bays; and
  • Car Parking – additional 59 car parking spaces.