This month’s full council meeting was dominated by a Q&A with the Chief Executive of Cwm Taf Morgannwg (CTM) health board, Paul Mears, over the damaged roof at the Princess of Wales Hospital.
As you will already know, the hospital’s first floor has been affected by significant leaks and water damage.
When pressed, the Chief Executive apologised to staff, patients and families and Bridgend County for the disruption this has caused.
Also, unless you hear otherwise, patients should attend appointments as normal. Most outpatient and diagnostic services at the hospital are unaffected, as is A&E.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg has a regularly updated FAQ section on their website – which you can view here.
What happened and why?
Around a month ago, a surveyor undertook a whole roof survey due to persistent issues with leaks and water damage.
The 600,000 concrete tiles used when the hospital was built in the 1980s had “at a push” a working lifespan of 35-40 years. So it was likely they had exceeded their lifespan.
Additionally, there was no roof ventilation space, so damp and wetness were concentrated. Roof battens have started to degrade, rot and “in some places” completely disintegrated. There was a risk that additional heavy rain, snow or high winds could cause the tiles to fall through.
The hospital’s guttering is being cleaned and emptied (after reports in the media highlighting plants growing in some of them) – while this wouldn’t have helped, this wasn’t the cause of the leaks.
What’s happening in the meantime?
Patients on affected wards have been moved to other hospitals within the health board area, with a few moved into residential care homes. As of Wednesday (23rd October), only one ward was awaiting relocation. The health board are considering transport options for families and how to assist relocated staff with travel.
The Intensive Care Unit has been moved to some of the operating theatres on the ground floor. CTM are considering modular wards and temporary operating theatres to cut waiting times.
Why wasn’t this dealt with sooner?
As you might expect, one of the main criticisms from councillors was that this problem wasn’t dealt with sooner or considered a high priority – particularly when contrasted to a £100million+ estate investment at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil.
The CEO told councillors a survey was undertaken in 2018-2019 when Bridgend moved health boards. While issues with the roof were identified they weren’t considered to be a “significant risk” at the time.
The hospital also had a £40million maintenance backlog, contrasted to the health board’s discretionary capital budget of just £8million-a-year. £20million had already been spent bringing other parts of the hospital up-to-standard.
There’s a wider issue in the Welsh NHS estate where hospitals built in the 1960s-1980s no longer meet modern standards. The money isn’t necessarily there to undertake all of the work at once, so health boards have to prioritise based on need.
An example was given where a Fire Authority could close a hospital if fire alarm and safety systems aren’t up to standard.
When and how will the roof be replaced?
CTM are in final negotiations with contractors for a replacement roof.
Work could start “in early November (2024)”. The work would be undertaken in stages under a temporary roof, with the entire roof replaced by summer 2025.
The maternity and neonatal wards will have their rooves replaced first, as they are closed temporarily for other refurbishment works. Some of the evacuated wards could reopen in January 2025.
This is expected to cost £20million. Talks are ongoing with the Welsh Government for capital funding as this is beyond the health board’s resources. There are no figures for the ongoing costs of disruption to appointments and patient evacuations yet.
