£102m Morriston hospital upgrade set for second phase

An artist's impression of the next stage of the regeneration project

The second phase of a £102m redevelopment of Swansea's Morriston hospital is set to begin in December.

Work has already been completed on a £17m multi-storey car park, a helipad, new road infrastructure and walkways.

But transformation of some of the oldest hospital buildings in Wales is next in line to bring them up to date.

It will focus on new accommodation for the artificial limb and appliance centre, medical electronics and rehabilitation engineering.

Then in the spring, work is scheduled to begin on constructing modern new premises for a wide range of services.

They include a new main entrance, outpatients department, radiology, a renal dialysis unit and an education centre.

'Very large investment'

Meanwhile, work is also underway at the moment enlarging the hospital's accident and emergency department.

Work to upgrade the hospital's mortuary and accommodation for the estates department is expected to be completed over the next few weeks.

Paul Stauber, director of planning at Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, said: "This is a very large investment for the Morriston Hospital site and will greatly improve the existing sub-standard accommodation, replacing building constructed for World War II and the 1940s."

He said the new outpatients department would be next to the multi-storey car park, making it easier for patients to walk straight across for appointments.

The Welsh Government approved the outline business case for the new developments in March, and a full business case will be submitted by the end of November, with building work set to start a few weeks later.

Designing the new-look facilities has involved close involvement with the clinical staff who will be working in the buildings once they are complete.

Project managers also met with representatives from 22 groups who all have different disabilities to ensure the new facilities will be fully accessible to everyone.