00:00The future of Neville Hall Hospital in Abergavenny remains uncertain,
00:04with ambitious redevelopment plans on the table, but no guarantees that they'll go ahead.
00:08A Nirenbevan University Health Board has confirmed that while it wants to expand
00:12local hospital services across Gwent, including at Neville Hall,
00:15there are no plans to return specialist acute care to the Grange in Cumbrian.
00:19The Grange was opened in 2020 to centralise critical and emergency services,
00:23and that model, Health Chiefs say, is here to stay.
00:26The accident and emergency department at Neville Hall was removed in late 2020,
00:30and all A&E patients across much of the area only have the Grange in Cumbrian as an option.
00:35Hannah Evans, the Board's Director of Planning, told counsellors in Monmouthshire this week
00:39they will not be bringing back acute specialties from the Grange,
00:42they simply do not have the workforce to sustain those services across multiple hospitals.
00:46So patients with serious conditions like heart attacks or complex injuries will go to the Grange,
00:50but the Board is considering whether more routine services, such as outpatients or diagnostics,
00:55could return to sites like Neville Hall. The timeline for any change is unclear.
00:59Much of Neville Hall's infrastructure is outdated and affected by RAAC,
01:03the same lightweight concrete raising safety concerns across the UK.
01:07The Board hopes to demolish and rebuild large sections of the hospital,
01:11but work wouldn't begin until at least 2027 or 2028, and only with Welsh Government funding.
01:17In the meantime, Neville Hall is already hosting a new radiotherapy satellite centre,
01:21and regional cataract surgery unit serving patients from Cardiff, Gwent and the Valleys.
01:26More services like day surgery, elderly care, women's health and possibly mental health
01:31are under consideration, but far from confirmed.
01:34The Health Board are asking people across areas of Newport, Torvine and Monmouthshire
01:37to have their say on the future of the site, with a consultation period open until mid-August.
01:42Here's Paige Watkins, reporting for Local TV.
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