A PRIVATE hospital run by nuns in Newport is in talks with an independent hospital provider about its sale.

St Joseph’s Hospital, on Harding Avenue, Malpas, has been run by the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy since 1946 but trustees say they no longer have the money or the energy to continue.

It comes just over a year after control of St Anne’s Hospice, which was also run by the sisters, was handed over to St David’s Hospice Care.

The hospital, which employs 150 people including bank staff, provides a range of services and treatments, including health screening and pathology.

A spokesman for the hospital said: “The trustees of St Joseph’s Hospital, Newport, confirm that, after long and careful consideration, they have sadly decided that they can no longer continue ownership of the hospital.

“As a congregation, they no longer have the personnel, energy nor financial resources to continue indefinitely to govern, sustain and develop St Joseph’s Hospital.

“As a result, the trustees have decided to sell the hospital as a going concern.”

It is hoped the new buyer will bring expertise and further investment to the hospital, he added.

Discussions with a prospective buyer are ongoing, but the spokesman said he was unable to discuss how much the hospital might sell for, or who the buyer was.

However he did say the buyer was an independent hospital provider.

A further announcement will be made once the sale is confirmed.

Last March it was announced that control over St Anne’s Hospice, which is based in the hospital grounds, was being transferred to St David’s Hospice from the nuns.

At the time, a statement said the nuns were “sad to have to withdraw from St Anne’s” but that the hospice could no longer function on its own because of “dwindling personnel resources”.

The hospital was opened in 1946 by the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy. The first operation took place on February 11.

A new hospital building was opened in October 1961, and included a 12-bed maternity wing.

The St Anne’s Hospice building was completed in 1994 and then the St Joseph’s Hydrotherapy Centre was opened in November 2004.