TWO new developments that are transforming care at the Royal Gwent Hospital, have been formally opened.

Minor injuries facilities have been upgraded, with a new unit (MIU) replacing the temporary building from which the service operated for close to 10 years.

And at the other end of the hospital site, the David Ferguson Neonatal Unit has been subjected to major refurbishment.

Health secretary Vaughan Gething formally opened the new MIU, before being shown around the neonatal unit.

Since it opened to patients shortly before last Christmas, the MIU has treated around 17,000 patients.

The unit is the result of a £3.4 million Welsh Government-funded scheme which began in January 2016, and has transformed the waiting room and treatment environments for patients and staff.

Its assessment and treatment areas are designed to relieve pressure on the emergency department - attended by 82,000 patients a year - as a whole.

As well as several treatment bays, the unit has ENT (ear, nose and throat) and ophthalmology rooms, and a plaster room.

Claire McCarthy, consultant nurse in emergency medicine, said patient comfort and staff welfare were paramount in the design, and better outcomes for patients and higher staff morale are among the results.

“We’ve looked at patients’ feedback and complaints, which have fallen since the unit opened,” she said.

“We also have a patient journey board, which helps people understand where they are in the process.

“There has been a lot of hard work involved, and the emergency nurse practitioner team makes this unit work, and those at Nevill Hall, Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr, and Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan.”

The refurbishment of the David Ferguson Neonatal Unit has updated it to meet national standards.

Gabrielle Morgan, from Caerphilly, described the unit and the care her son George - born at the end of July - has received as “fantastic.”

“In a way you don’t want to see the neonatal unit or the people who work there. But when you need them, you see what a fabulous job they do,” she said.

Mr Gething said the investment made at the Royal Gwent “will help ensure the sickest babies receive the very best care, while the new MIU will help ensure people with minor injuries receive quick and effective treatment, while helping to ease pressure on our busy emergency departments.”

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board chief executive Judith Paget said: “The improved environments at the hospital have been developed to provide the best layout for our clinical activities and to support more efficient, effective and safe working practices.”