Miners' hospital set to be replaced

The hospital was paid for by the miners in the area

A hospital paid for by the miners of a south Wales valley is set to close to make way for a new general hospital.

Caerphilly District Miners' Hospital is in line to shut, with the proposal now being sent to the Welsh Assembly Government.

The details were announced by the local health board on Wednesday.

The hospital was built in 1923 for the 24,000 miners and their families who worked in the 29 pits of the Rhymney Valley.

Members of the local health board decided to give the go-ahead for a new general hospital to replace the existing community hospitals in the Caerphilly area.

But they have still yet to decide the actual location of the hospital.

However, they confirmed that a decision should be made in September about the site and said it will be no further north than Bargoed, no further south than Ystrad Mynach and no further east than Blackwood.

The proposal will now be presented to the Welsh Assembly Government for approval.

Judith Paget, chief executive of Caerphilly Local Health Board: "We are aware that the location of a new hospital within the county borough is an extremely sensitive issue and we have taken into account the concerns raised by local residents through the public consultation.

"We feel sure that the proposals outlined in the outline business case offer us the best opportunity to provide Caerphilly residents with quality healthcare services that will serve them for at least the next 40 or 50 years as the current hospitals have."

The health board has also decided not to close Redwood Hospital in Rhymney after massive local opposition.

Redwood will be used as a Primary Care Resource Centre, but will also have some beds for patients.

Several public meetings were held about the proposals, as part of the 13-week consultation period.

Campaigners in Caerphilly wanted to see the town's hospital remain open in some form.

The hospital was paid for by the miners in the area and has been providing medical services for the last 80 years.

Jean Williams, the chair of Caerphilly Health Watch, who worked as a nurse at the hospital for 18 years said: "Of course we want a new hospital but ideally we would like to see the Caerphilly Miners' being kept open as a convalescent unit.

The hospital has been running for 80 years

"It is very sad and the end of an era but the decision today didn't really surprise me.

"I understand that they can't keep the Miners' open in its current form and a new hospital because it would cost too much.

"But it would be nice for the older generation to have it kept open in some capacity," she added.

And her comments were supported by staff at the hospital.

One member of staff, who did not want to be named, said: "There is a lot of pride in the hospital and a lot of affection for it.

"I don't really think that centralisation of the services is going to work and a lot of my colleagues think the same."

The plans for the new hospital will be presented to a joint meeting of the local health board and Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust Boards and will be submitted to the Welsh Assembly Government for final approval.

The new general hospital will have 266 beds and be built in a central location - however it is not anticipated to be ready before 2009.