Clwyd West Assembly Member Darren Millar has welcomed news that an £18 million investment has been confirmed to build a new neonatal intensive care centre at a Denbighshire hospital.
Construction will begin on the centre at Glan Clwyd hospital in Bodelwyddan next month after the Welsh Government invested £16 million on top of almost £2 million already announced.
It will in centralise specialised care for very sick and premature babies in North Wales and follows protests against initial plans to downgrade maternity and neonatal services.
Darren, who took a leading role in the campaign, said:
“I am absolutely delighted that funding has at last been confirmed.
“The people of North Wales have been waiting for far too long for this unit. Neonatal care across North Wales has been an area of concern for sometime. Until the First Minister Carwyn Jones guaranteed the unit, providing care for babies as young as 26 weeks, parents were faced with the prospect of very sick and premature babies being transported to Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral.
“Having a baby is a worrying time for any mother, whether it is their first or tenth. They need to know that they are in the safest hands. Having the ‘Sub-Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Centre’ in place will provide them with the assurances they need. Our babies deserve the highest standard of health care available and the very best start in life and this new unit will help to deliver just that.
“I look forward to seeing work get underway and to seeing the completed projected when it opens its doors in 2018.”