Over £9.7m for Swansea neonatal and post-natal services

26 Apr 2018 09:48 AM

Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething, has today announced over £9.7million funding to support neonatal and post-natal services at Singleton Hospital.

The funding will be used to develop a new seven bed Transitional Care Unit and Special Care Baby Unit to improve the quality of care of mothers and babies, and free up space within its current Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. 

Speaking ahead of a visit to the neonatal ward later today, Mr Gething said the changes would allow the health board to increase the number of  births which can be treated at Singleton from the end of July 2019. This will increase capacity across the South Wales area, in line with the Neonatal Network plans  and the proposals put forward in the South Wales Programme.

Vaughan Gething said:

“Our investment in Singleton Hospital demonstrates our commitment to improving services across the Welsh NHS. The important developments promise to improve quality of care for mothers and their babies, providing a safer environment, with 24/7 access to Neonatal transitional care nurses and access to much-needed neonatal critical care cots.”

The investment in Singleton Hospital will:

• provide a new 7-bed Transitional Care Unit with specialist 24/7 nursing to care for those babies who require more than normal Post-natal care, but do not require admission to the Neonatal Unit, and overnight accommodation for Mothers, with single rooms and ensuite facilities to provide privacy and support infection control
• provide a permanent 12-cot Special Care Baby Unit
• increase Neonatal High Dependency Unit capacity by two cots and Special Care Baby Unit capacity by one cot
• allow space to expand the High Dependency Unit 
• provide space for 9 additional special care cots. 

Jan Worthing, Singleton Hospital Director, said:

“We very much welcome this £9.71m investment from Welsh Government to support major reconfiguration and additional neonatal capacity at Singleton Hospital. This supports the South Wales Programme and Central Alliance Group’s vision of providing safer and higher quality healthcare within local, regional and tertiary Neonatal and Post-natal care settings.

“Work will begin in mid-2018 and phased to ensure services are not disrupted.”