ANEURIN Bevan University Health Board have announced plans to relocate the three main community rehabilitation wards at St Woolos Hospital.

There are currently three rehabilitation wards in St Woolos Hospital - Gwanwyn Ward, Ruperra Ward and Penhow Ward.

The health board are currently exploring the possibility of relocating these wards to the Royal Gwent Hospital, which is allegedly bigger and would allow better quality care to be administered.

The wards could also be potentially moved to Ystrad Mynach or Nevil Hall Hospitals.

Currently, patients are first taken to the Royal Gwent for initial care, then moved to a community hospital, such as St Woolos, once a need for specialist care has been established.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board have made this decision due to increasing staff difficulties over recent months, having been forced to come up with a plan to resolve them.

The relocation of the wards is part of this plan, with the idea being to move them all to one site, along with all the staff.

The board highlighted that this is a reconfiguration of wards, rather than a closure. It has been pointed out that no final decisions have been made, and at this point it is simply a plan they are considering.

Residents who use St Woolos Hospital have expressed concern over the relocation of these wards, with the increased distance and the impact it will have on the health of elderly patients being a main issue.

A spokesperson for the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “We have recently informed staff about plans to consider transferring three community rehabilitation wards from St Woolos Hospital to the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport which we believe could offer an improved service and environment for staff and patients.

“Further planning and engagement is required to confirm these plans and no agreed timescales have yet been set. There would be no redundancies involved and staff and unions are being kept fully up to date.

“In line with our long-term Clinical Futures plan, there are wider discussions ongoing about the alignment of our services across hospitals in Gwent to ensure they are as safe and efficient as possible.”

Unison Cymru, the Welsh branch of the public service trade union, declined to comment on the matter at this time.