£7.7m to support burns centre to save more lives

Health Secretary Mark Drakeford has today confirmed £7.7m to upgrade the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery as it marks its 30th anniversary.

The funding will improve facilities at the centre of excellence at Morriston Hospital, in Swansea, which supports a population of 10m people from Aberystwyth to Oxford.

The centre provides specialist care to more than 1,000 people every year – half of whom are children – including people who have suffered the most severe burns. People with complex burns from further afield are also referred to Swansea for treatment and care.

The £7.7m will create three burns cubicles and two general intensive care cubicles in Morriston’s main intensive care unit and will convert an existing theatre to help treat more burns patients.

Burns cubicles are highly specialised rooms, where temperatures can be strictly controlled and are important in reducing the risk of infection.

Health Secretary Mark Drakeford said:

For the last 30 years, the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery has built a reputation for being one of Europe’s largest and busiest burns services, providing excellent care to thousands of people.

This funding will help to ensure the centre can continue to deliver the best outcomes for patients and staff alike, with high quality facilities to meet patient needs, and to attract and retain talented, professional staff – helping to save more lives, quickly and safely.

More than 6,500 people who need plastic surgery, often following trauma, infection and cancer, are treated every year at the centre.

Consultant plastic surgeon at Morriston Hospital, Dean Boyce said:

The Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery provides care for major burns for a population of over 10 million in Wales and the South West of England, and regularly takes intensive care patients from all over the UK.

This investment means that the sickest of our burns patients will continue to get the best care possible.

Swansea has always been one of the outstanding burns centres in the UK, and this development ensures that this excellence will continue.