Work starts on palliative care centre
BUILDING work has begun on a £7m centre which will provide specialist endof-life care to patients.
The state-of-the-art Y Bwthyn Macmillan Specialist Care Unit will be built at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital near Llantrisant thanks to contributions of £5m from Macmillan and £2m from the Welsh Government.
A further £500,000 has been donated to Macmillan by charity the Moondance Foundation.
Health Secretary Vaughan Gething joined staff from Macmillan and Cwm Taf University Health Board for a turf cutting event yesterday.
The eight-bed unit will provide inpatient, outpatient and palliative day care for people with incurable cancer and other conditions within the health board area of Rhondda and Taff Ely.
The unit aims to provide a comfortable and welcoming environment to people being cared for there and their loved ones.
The unit will be Macmillan’s biggest investment in Wales so the charity is asking people to help them build Y Bwthyn by fundraising towards it.
Susan Morris, head of services for Macmillan Cancer Support in Wales, said: “Macmillan is thrilled to give £5m towards the Y Bwthyn Macmillan Specialist Care Unit thanks to our supporters and I am pleased to mark the upcoming building work by cutting the turf with Cabinet Secretary for Health Vaughan Gething.
“We would like to say a huge thank you to the Moondance Foundation for its generous donation of £500,000 towards the unit.
“As the £5m is our biggest investment in Wales, we’re asking people to help us build the Y Bwthyn unit by fundraising for it whether that’s by baking, running or simply texting to donate £5.
“The Y Bwthyn Macmillan Specialist Care Unit will be a warm, welcoming and comfortable environment for people needing palliative care and their loved ones and we are so pleased to be developing it in partnership with Cwm Taf University Health Board.”
Palliative care for cancer patients in Rhondda and Taff Ely is currently provided at Y Bwthyn Pontypridd Cottage Hospital.
Although the quality of care at Y Bwthyn is known to be excellent, its location means that patients need to be transferred to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital to access specialist tests and treatments, which can be difficult and distressing.
Similarly some patients who go to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital may benefit from being in a palliative care environment but are too unwell to be transferred to Y Bwthyn.
Dr Ian Back, consultant in palliative medicine at Cwm Taf University Health Board, said: “The new state-of-the-art specialist unit will be designed to provide patients with the high-quality care they need in a comfortable environment for both them and their loved ones.
“Building the new unit at Royal Glamorgan Hospital will also ensure that patients have access to specialist tests and treatment more easily without the need for unnecessary transfers between hospitals when they are often too unwell.”
John Palmer, director of primary, community and mental health services at Cwm Taf University Health Board, said: “The plan is for this unit to have a worldclass addition to our rapidly developing palliative care service.”
To pledge your support to help Macmillan build Y Bwthyn text MACY59 £5 to 70070 to donate £5.