WIREDGOV

Health and Social Services Minister Mark Drakeford has approved plans for a new £20m integrated care centre in Cardigan.

The scheme, which supports Hywel Dda University Health Board’s new model for integrated care, will replace the existing Cardigan Memorial Hospital and Cardigan Health Centre.

The proposed new integrated resource centre will allow health and social care professionals to work together to provide care closer to people’s homes. It will become the health resource and communications hub at the centre of Cardigan, delivering care in the right place at the right time.

Services provided will include:

• GP practice and out-of-hours service
• specialist and nurse-led clinics
• rehabilitation day unit to restore function and improve independence
• services for dementia sufferers and their carers
• minor injury service
• radiology and diagnostics
• phlebotomy service and point-of-care testing
• outpatient suite with consulting rooms and clinical treatment facilities for pre-assessment
• telemedicine suite, providing access to specialists.

The centre will also provide a base for the community resource team in the South Ceredigion area delivering care services in South Ceredigion, North Pembrokeshire and the Teifi Valley.

Professor Drakeford said:

“I’m pleased to announce the outline approval for a new, modern centre for health and social care in Cardigan.

“This purpose-built facility will help the health board deliver exemplary standards of care for people living in Cardigan and the surrounding area.

“It will support our aim of delivering care closer to people’s homes, while also reducing inappropriate admissions to hospital, nursing and care homes through an integrated system of community support, early intervention, reablement and intermediate care.

“This project is an exciting approach to addressing the problems experienced by rural communities across Wales.”

Hywel Dda University Health Board Chief Executive Steve Moore, said:

"This is fantastic news for Ceredigion. The new centre will bring health and social care together in the heart of the community. The development will ensure integrated working to ensure value for money and enable new opportunities to provide services needed for the local population.

"I wish to pay tribute all our stakeholders, including our staff and local authority colleagues for their part in reaching this milestone in the project. We look forward to continuing to work together with our partners to bring the development to fruition."

Hywel Dda University Health Board will now develop a full business case for Cardigan Integrated Care Centre.