A new state of the art hub aimed at cutting NHS Wales waiting times and improving access to treatment is being backed by £121m Welsh Government funding.
The funding for Llantrisant Health Park will see six new operating theatres built and 54 beds provided at a purpose-built facility initially focusing on hip and knee replacement surgery.
The Regional Orthopaedic Arthroplasty Hub will also include diagnostic and recovery facilities, helping patients get back on their feet more quickly after surgery.
Once open, the Hub will deliver on average 3,000 operations per year. Health and Care Minister, Mabon ap Gwynfor said this demonstrates the scale of this new Welsh Government’s ambition and purpose in delivering on its key priority of reducing inherited waiting times, and building longer term sustainability into the system to keep waits down.
Three University Health Boards – Cwm Taf Morgannwg, Aneurin Bevan and Cardiff and Vale, are working together on the project. Work on the new facility is due to start this month, with construction expected to finish by late 2028 and the hub opening to patients in early 2029.
The new hub builds on the site’s earlier transformation from a former aircraft engineering factory into a health campus and forms the next phase of a wider plan to create modern, purpose-built facilities for planned care in south east Wales.
By bringing hip and knee surgery together in one dedicated centre, the hub is expected to help ensure no patient in the region waits longer than 36 weeks for treatment by 2030. Doctors also expect to treat more patients more quickly and help more people go home on the same day as their operation.
Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor, said: “This funding is a significant boost to the construction of a new purpose-built facility at Llantrisant Health Park – designed to cut waiting times and get people the treatment they need faster.
“Once open, the new Hub will carry out thousands of operations and embed lasting sustainability into the system. This is what real investment in the NHS looks like – not a quick fix, but the capacity we need to clear the backlog and keep waiting times down for the future.”
