Major funding for improvements to surgical services at Wrexham Maelor Hospital has been announced. 

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething AM has announced more than £3m of funds to install a two theatre suite modular development at the hospital, which are planned to open in March.

It comes after the Leader revealed in September that two endoscopy suites and two day-case theatres had been temporarily closed at Wrexham Maelor Hospital after checks on air ventilation and ducting systems identified “some technical problems”.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) has put in place systems to mitigate the current disruption to these services at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, including £1m of funding. This includes the hire of two mobile theatres for a six month period which the Health Board will fund and will be in place by January 2018.

The funding announced today for the two modular theatres will provide new, more robust facilities for the people of Wrexham and the surrounding area for at least the next 10 years.

Mr Gething said:  “Ensuring the people of Wales have access to up-to-date healthcare services in a safe environment is a priority.  I’m pleased to announce over £3m worth of funding for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to take the necessary steps to improve facilities at Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

”Moreover, this will enable health professionals to work efficiently, providing high quality patient care for patients in Wrexham and the surrounding area, and meet the required performance standards.”

BCUHB chief executive Gary Doherty said: “We have been working closely with Welsh Government since the closure of the theatres in the Wrexham Maelor Hospital and we are delighted that funding has been awarded to install two new modular theatres for day case surgery. Through the addition of local capital resources we will also install an endoscopy suite.

“We are pleased that we have been able to take swift action to improve this situation. These new facilities will ensure that people in Wrexham and the surrounding area will continue to receive a high quality service going forward.”