GWENT'S health board will receive £1.64 million to help it improve critical care services, as part of a £15m all-Wales handout by the Welsh Government.

The investment was announced last year, but now health minister Vaughan Gething has revealed how it will be allocated.

As well as the £1.64m for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, £1.7m will go towards a national transfer service for critically ill adults. The remaining cash will be shared by Wales' other health boards.

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Mr Gething said: “Hospital-based services such as critical care remain an essential and visible part of our future health and care system.

"We need to speed up the pace of changes within critical care and look at how we deliver services across Wales, to ensure we have the right services in the right place for those who are critically ill. This funding will help us achieve that.

"As well as providing additional critical care beds, the funding will deliver improvements in related services such as post-anaesthesia care units, long term ventilation and critical care outreach teams. It will also help address existing workforce issues to meet both the current and expanding capacity.”