Bridgend hospital 'left to rot' and building issues 'really bad for many years', staff member claims

• ITV Wales' Andrea Byrne and Tom Atkins report.

The Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend has been "left to rot" and major issues with the building have been ignored for many years, according to several hospital staff.

The health board responsible for the leaking building declared a critical incident at the start of October after it said a survey discovered rot in the beams which support the roof, with almost 200 patients initially affected.

One worker we spoke to, who we are calling Sarah as she wants her identity to be disguised, told ITV Wales that the intensive care unit has been moved and some theatres have closed.

She claims she has seen "dead birds, vegetation and tomato plants" growing in the hospital’s guttering, and told us the rotting roof, and its consequences, are far worse than what has been disclosed publicly by Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board.

Health board chief executive Paul Mears said the health board has been transparent with the public, adding: “Information has been shared with everyone that needs to know."

He told ITV Wales that contractors have started working on the roof, and while the guttering is not directly related to the rotting beams, "work to replace and clean the guttering (is) currently underway".

'It's been really, really bad'

We have heard from several staff members at the Princess of Wales Hospital who claim that the building's guttering has not been properly looked after.

Sarah told us: "Everyone’s been saying the gutterings are completely blocked. You’ve got bushes, it’s just full of vegetation, there’s dead birds in there, there’s tomato plants growing.

"Reports have been made of water coming down the walls, ceiling tiles coming down because of the water, they’ve come down on computers, on examination chairs. It’s been really, really bad."

The impact of the leaks has meant clinics in the hospital have been cancelled and some cancer clinics there have had to be moved, Sarah says.

Tom Griffard MS, who represents South Wales West in the Senedd, told ITV that he has heard similar reports of problems at the hospital.

"I’ve been speaking to staff members who work here and have worked here at the Princess of Wales Hospital and what’s really clear is that this has been a problem for much, much longer than is immediately apparent," he said.

At the start of October, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board declared a critical incident and issued a statement to the public saying a survey of the hospital had identified "serious internal long-term damage" to the beams which support the roof.

Rainwater had been entering the building through the roof, with many of the tiles reaching "the end of their lifespan", leading to the battens underneath rotting and "in many instances (they) have completely disintegrated".

In an earlier statement regarding the 190 patients immediately affected, the health board said it was working hard to either discharge them, transfer them to other facilities or move them to a residential or nursing home.

Speaking to ITV, the health board's chief executive acknowledged the issues with the hospital's guttering but insisted these problems had not caused the problems with the roof.

Mr Mears said: "Obviously, that's something we need to sort out quickly, but the roof problems that we've currently got at Princess of Wales Hospital, we've been very clear from the get-go that this is not directly related to the guttering problem.

"I understand absolutely from a visual perspective and from a context perspective, it can make people think that must be what's caused it. And I'm not saying there aren't links between that but the primary reason the roof has had problems is with the porous tiles that have allowed water to come in."

'Information has been shared with everyone that needs to know'

He also told us that for work to be carried out on the roof, parts of the hospital have been closed and some patients will be moved to other nearby hospitals. Other large hospitals in the health board area include the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant and Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil.

Acknowledging the impact on neighbouring hospitals, he said: "It's not just the Princess of Wales that's been impacted by this critical incident, our colleagues at the Royal Glamorgan, at Prince Charles, and indeed, our neighbouring health boards are all supporting and trying to be accommodating to make sure that we can try and get people into beds and into care as quickly as they need it."

However, Sarah claims the public hasn't been told the extent of the disruption. She said: "Two eye theatres are now converted into the intensive care unit, so there are no operations in the eyes going on.

"There's no operating in the main theatres. The only theatres that the Princess of Wales has are two-day surgery theatres. So any major surgery, if you fell over and fractured your hip, you would have to go to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital."

The health board boss confirmed that the intensive care unit has been moved and some theatres have closed.

We asked Mr Mears if he thought the health board had been transparent with the public. He said: "Information has been shared with everyone that needs to know. Patients whose care has been affected have been informed."

In a statement, the Welsh Government said: "Health boards are responsible for the safe operation and management of their estate.

"We have allocated £24m directly to health boards over the last two years for infrastructure works across the NHS estate and will continue to work with Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB on a longer-term repair of the roof at the Princess of Wales Hospital."

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board has confirmed it hopes work to repair the hospital's roof will begin as soon as possible, with hopes work will be complete by next summer.

You can contact the team at wales@itv.com.

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