Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (UHB) has confirmed the maternity and neonatal unit at the Princess of Wales Hospital i Bridgend will not reopen in early December as originally planned. It was expected that the maternity ward would be closed for 12 weeks from Monday September 2 for “urgent and essential improvement works”.

But earlier this month Cwm Taf Morgannwg declared a critical incident after the results of an investigation revealed extensive damage to the roof of the hospital. The damage was caused by heavy rains that resulted in leaks throughout the building. You can read more about the problem here.

Due to the condition of the roof and the “urgent and fast-moving” situation at the hospital, the maternity and neonatal unit will now not reopen in December as planned. Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB cannot confirm exactly when services will return to the hospital but they expect it will be “very early 2025”.

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The work to replace the roof will begin in November and will be carried out in stages. The maternity and neonatal ward is being treated first and all work is expected to be completed by the summer of 2025. For the latest health and Covid news, subscribe to our newsletter here

Due to the condition of the roof of the main building, patients have been moved out of the wards on the first floor, where the maternity ward is located, meaning that 200 patients have to be accommodated in alternative settings. Patients with the most serious needs have stayed at the Princess of Wales while others have been discharged or transferred to a local setting or to other hospitals within the health board.

Suzanne Hardacre, Head of Midwifery at the Health Board, said: “Due to urgent maintenance work on our neonatal and maternity units at the Princess of Wales Hospital, services have been temporarily moved to other hospital sites since early September. This vital work is progressing apace and is currently on the right track.

“However, in recent weeks major issues have been identified with the condition of the roof of the hospital. This requires urgent work to replace the roof of the main building and this includes the area where our maternity and neonatal units are located. Whilst the roof in this area will be a priority and being the first to be replaced, the work will unfortunately mean that our maternity and neonatal services will not be able to move back into the hospital in early December as planned.

“This is an urgent and fast-moving situation and we do not yet have an exact date for return. But we expect this to be early 2025. We fully understand that this is a worrying time for our women and families and our priority is to keep them updated as we move through this program of work. I want to thank our amazing staff and everyone in our communities for their patience and understanding as we work through this challenging time.”