Plans to open new Grange Hospital early on hold as extra beds 'unlikely' to be needed
Plans to open the new Grange hospital have been put on hold as the extra capacity is 'unlikely' to be needed, it has been confirmed.
Last month, it was announced that the £350m Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran was due to partially open later this month in a bid to tackle the outbreak of coronavirus - a year early.
Majority of the confirmed cases of the virus in Wales are in the Aneurin Bevan University Hospital Board area.
However the health board have said the 350 beds that were planned are now ''unlikely to be needed'' as the pressure has not been as ''great'' as initially thought.
However, the health board urged that while it is good news, people should not get complacent and start to ignore the guidance.
In Monday's Welsh Government presser, the first minister said although it was a ''sign of success'', the hospital would still be available should outcomes change.
Mark Drakeford said, ''We have the capacity within current system, able to mange number of patients in that part of Wales. It is a sign i believe of the success we have had from efforts to increase capacity but also the success of action people of wales have taken.''
The hospital was one of the many sites being prepared in response to the outbreak across Wales.
A temporary hospital based at the Principality Stadium officially opened to meet increased demand for beds.Ysbyty Calon Y Ddraig, the Dragon's Heart Hospital, is the largest temporary hospital in Wales and the second largest in the UK, providing up to 2,000 additional beds.
Elsewhere, other stadiums, sports facilities and venues have been transformed into field hospitals to cope with expected demand.
He also said the number of people being admitted to hospital with coronavirus symptoms in Wales continued to declineand that new admissions for the virus had started to decline.
But he warned against any complacency, adding that the "impact of the virus remains real."