A YEAR short of completion, and around 17 months before it takes its first patients, the Grange University Hospital is already a significant landmark.

The six tower cranes that dominated the hospital site and the skyline east of Cwmbran during earlier phases of the building programme are now gone, but there remains much to do to ensure the £350 million project is ready.

South Wales Argus:

The 560-bed hospital - including trolleys and cots - will treat the sickest patients in Gwent and south Powys, providing complex specialist and critical care treatment for a catchment area of more than 600,000 people.

The hospital is being built on part of the former Llanfrechfa Grange Hospital site, and work began in July 2017. It is expected to be completed next autumn, but will not take in its first patients until spring 2021.

South Wales Argus:

These photographs, taken this month from a drone, give bird's eye view of the site, while the artist's impressions show details of the main entrance and the emergency department entrance, which will be at opposite sides of the hospital.

South Wales Argus:

All major emergency patients will be taken to the new hospital, which will include a 24-hour emergency department and assessment unit, dealing with emergencies and resuscitation cases.

It will also host a broad range of diagnostic services, operating theatres, and a consultant-led obstetric unit.

South Wales Argus:

An artist's impression looking towards the emergency department at the Grange University Hospital

The hospital will have a dedicated paediatric assessment unit to manage all paediatric emergencies, and it will be a base for neonatal intensive care.

Pathology, pharmacy, and radiology, including MRI and CT scanners, will be sited here too.

The site will also include a helipad, to enable emergency cases to be transferred quickly.