Wales Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Miles full of praise for £7.7m burns centre investment
Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Jeremy Miles has congratulated Swansea Bay staff following a £7.7m investment in care for burns patients at Morriston Hospital.
Mr Miles enjoyed a tour of new facilities which will open at the end of October, with the impressive upgrade ensuring Swansea Bay’s renowned Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery, based at Morriston, is equipped for the 21st century.
A ward previously designated for general intensive care has been completely rebuilt to provide three specialist burns cubicles with shower rooms, plus two new general intensive care cubicles.
Burns cubicles are highly-specialised rooms with strict temperature controls to reduce the risk of infection.
A specialist burns operating theatre has also been created adjacent to the new ICU ward. The work ensures the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery now has sufficient capacity with state-of-the-art facilities located all in one place.
The investment by Welsh Government means the centre, which is one of the most significant in Europe and provides specialist care for a population of 10 million from Aberystwyth to Oxford, has the tools and facilities to keep pace with the highest standards of care.
Pictured: Jeremy Yarrow, Clinical Director of the burns service, discusses the new facilities with Jeremy Miles.
“Over the past 30 years, the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery has built a reputation as one of Europe’s largest burns services,” said Mr Miles.
“It is fantastic to see the new and improved intensive care unit for burns patients, and how our investment will support this centre of excellence to continue delivering high-quality care and the best outcomes for patients and staff.
“These cutting-edge facilities and technology will mean people will receive the best urgent care, safely and quickly, which could save their lives.”
Work began on the project in January and was carried out to minimise the impact on hospital patients and staff.
The centre currently provides specialist care for more than 1,000 people a year – roughly half of whom are children – including patients with the most severe burns. Meanwhile more than 6,500 people who need plastic surgery, often following trauma, infection and cancer, are treated at the centre every year.
Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery staff are naturally delighted they will soon be able to begin treating patients in the new high-spec facility.
“We’re immensely grateful for this funding allocation without which we wouldn’t be able to maintain a major burns centre in Swansea Bay,” said Clinical Director of Burns Service, Jeremy Yarrow.
“Our centre provides major burns care for a huge population across Wales and the south-west of England and we regularly receive patients from all over the UK.
“The funding, if anything, has gone beyond what we could have hoped for. It ensures that we have 21st century facilities and will be able to continue to provide the services of a major burns centre well into the future.”
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