New hospital will house third Gwent scanner (From South Wales Argus)

New hospital will house third Gwent scanner

6:20pm Wednesday 11th November 2009 in Gwent news By Andy Rutherford - Health correspondent

THE new £173 million hospital being built to serve patients across Caerphilly county borough will house a third MRI scanner for Gwent.

The £1.4m machine will be based at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr, near Ystrad Mynach, after the hospital is completed during autumn 2011, but will in the meantime be used in a mobile scanning unit, to ensure patients benefit from the investment as soon as possible.

The MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner will play a vital role in helping meet and reduce waiting times targets for diagnostic tests, for which demand continues to increase.

Speaking at the topping-out ceremony Aneurin Bevan Health Board chairman David Jenkins said he was "delighted" at the investment, which will "immediately benefit patients in the wider community."

Health bosses hope the 225-bed hospital will be taking in patients early in autumn 2011, and a topping-out ceremony held yesterday is the latest milestone reached towards completion.

The building is now almost watertight and work will soon start on internal fittings.

The hospital will have all single en-suite rooms to improve patients' privacy and dignity, and to help reduce the risk of spread of infection.

It will also include:

* A non-critical emergency care centre, including inpatient care, to reduce need for patients to travel and help reduce pressure on neighbouring A&E departments;
* Routine planned day case and in-patient operations, including general surgery, gynaecology and urology;
* A diagnostic and treatment centre, including x-rays and endoscopy;
* A midwifery-led maternity unit;
* An integrated care centre providing intensive rehabilitation;
* An adult and older people’s mental health unit.