SWANSEA: MBE news reaches cancer doctor 5,000 miles away as he teaches in India

A Swansea cancer consultant was more than 5,000 miles from home — teaching on a course in India — when he found out he had been awarded an MBE.

Dr Martin Rolles, a consultant clinical oncologist at the South West Wales Cancer Centre at Singleton Hospital, was recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours for his services to healthcare science and cancer care.

The honour was announced while he was in Kolkata, working as a faculty member on a course that helps train the next generation of cancer doctors — and the news travelled fast.

“One of the people who was in India with me found out about it and then informed everybody. I started receiving emails and texts while I was trying to teach,” he said.

“And of course my mother has told every person in her address book.”

Dr Rolles said the first he knew of the award was a confidential letter from the Cabinet Office two months ago, and that he still has no idea who nominated him.

He was quick to share the credit with colleagues across South Wales.

“It really belongs to everyone I’ve worked with over the last 20 years in South Wales and to all the various committees I belong to,” he said.

“I’ve been really lucky to work with a fantastic bunch of people and what we have achieved, we have achieved as a team.”

He added: “We have brought cancer services in South West Wales up to national standards and European standards. There is still a long way to go but it’s a lovely place to work.”

Dr Rolles specialises in head and neck cancer and non-melanoma skin cancer. After studying zoology at the University of Bristol, he read medicine at the University of Wales.

Following specialist training in Wessex and a radiotherapy fellowship at the Vancouver Cancer Centre, he returned to Wales in 2006 to take up a consultant post in Swansea.

Alongside his clinical work, he chairs the Welsh Health Sciences Committee, which gives independent scientific advice to the Welsh Government, as well as the Wales Cancer Network Clinical Reference Group and two all-Wales advisory groups on advanced radiotherapy.

He is also vice chair of the Council of the Royal College of Radiologists, and a strong advocate for clinical research, currently leading national trials into head and neck and skin cancer.

The course that took him to India is the Cardiff FRCR Course, a non-profit run by consultant oncologists and senior trainees based at the South West Wales Cancer Centre and Velindre Cancer Centre.

Founded in 1986, it prepares oncology trainees for the final exams they must pass to become consultants. It launched in India in 2019 and expanded to Hong Kong four years later, with Dr Rolles on the faculty since 2006.

“It’s hard work but good fun, and we feel we are doing something really useful,” he said.

As for the award itself, he admitted to mixed feelings about the attention.

“Being the centre of attention is slightly embarrassing but receiving the award is very nice. It has come as a massive surprise,” he said.

Dr Rolles is one of more than a dozen people from across Swansea Bay and Carmarthenshire recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours — a list that also included a Swansea University professor appointed OBE for her work on suicide prevention, a hospice nurse in Carmarthen, and a long-serving city councillor honoured shortly before his death.

The recognition comes at a busy time for the Singleton cancer centre, which is undergoing a £14m development to transform how cancer is diagnosed across the region and recently saw its research work boosted by a six-figure investment.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

KING’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS: The Swansea Bay and Carmarthenshire names on this year’s list
Every local name recognised in this year’s honours.

£14 million Singleton Hospital development to transform cancer diagnoses
The major project reshaping cancer diagnosis across South West Wales.

Cancer centre’s pioneering research boosted with six-figure investment
Fresh funding for research at the South West Wales Cancer Centre.

#KingSBirthdayHonours #MartinRolles #SingletonHospital #SouthWestWalesCancerCentre

SWANSEA: ‘We couldn’t say his name without getting emotional’ — the Singleton midwife so kind that parents named their baby after him

A Swansea couple have given their baby a midwife’s name as his middle name — in tribute to the care they received at Singleton Hospital during one of the most frightening nights of their lives.

Shania Jenkins, 26, and partner Liam John are now the proud parents of Tobias Michael John — with the middle name chosen to honour midwife Michael Nixon, who looked after Shania when she haemorrhaged after delivering baby Tobi prematurely last September.

Shania Jenkins with baby Tobi, who was born at 34 weeks at Singleton Hospital. Image: Swansea Bay University Health Board

“His kindness just made everything better,” said Shania, who lives in Bynea. “For a few days after we couldn’t even say Michael’s name without getting emotional. And that is when we made the decision to put his name into Tobi.”

The pregnancy had been complicated from the start. Shania has a rare form of diabetes called MODY — maturity-onset diabetes of the young — and had to be monitored throughout. Then, living in Bridgend, she went to Princess of Wales Hospital for a routine scan only to be told she was going into labour at just 28 weeks.

She was transferred to Singleton, where doctors gave her medication to slow the labour. “They couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t come early,” Shania said. “But it worked. He stayed in for an extra six weeks.”

Tobi was eventually born at 34 weeks, weighing four pounds eight ounces — a good weight for a premature baby. But his arrival was far from straightforward. After two days of slow labour with little progress, Shania went home — only to return almost immediately with contractions.

Liam John, Shania Jenkins and baby Tobi at Christmas. Image: Swansea Bay University Health Board

Back at Singleton, the couple were supported through the night by midwife Abbey Hughes. “She was rubbing my back. She was making us laugh,” Shania said. “I really appreciated that because it didn’t make me feel as scared.”

The following day midwife Kristy McCullar took over — equally supportive, the couple said. Then Tobi arrived — and Shania began to haemorrhage.

It was at that point that Michael Nixon came to the fore. Obstetric registrar Dr Aishvarya Gupta and Michael stopped the bleeding, while Tobi was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Michael stayed with Shania to monitor her.

“He told me that, even though Tobi wasn’t with me, he was more than happy for me to go to Tobi if I felt up to it,” Shania recalled. “And then he wheeled my bed up to NICU so I could see him.”

When the time came for Liam to go home, Shania whispered to him that she was anxious about being alone after haemorrhaging — not intending Michael to hear. “He must have overheard me because he came back in with a pull-out bed and said Liam could stay on that. He came back every hour — not just to check on me but to reassure me that the bleeding had not restarted.”

“He was just really good at knowing what I needed without me needing to say it,” she said. “He looked after Liam too. He was just so kind and compassionate. Michael just being there uplifted everything.”

Michael said he was deeply moved when he learned the couple had given Tobi his name. “It’s something I will never forget and feel incredibly honoured by,” he said. “Knowing that my care made a difference during what was a frightening and overwhelming experience is incredibly humbling.”

He said midwives aimed to provide not just clinical care but reassurance, honesty and compassion at times of greatest vulnerability. “Supporting someone through uncertainty and separation from their baby is never something we take lightly,” he said.

As for Tobi, now several months old, he is doing well. “He’s got the most hair I have ever seen on a baby,” Shania said. “He’s thriving. He’s such a happy, smiley baby.”

Liam John with a smiley Tobi Image: Swansea Bay University Health Board

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#Bynea #maternity #midwife #SingletonHospital #SwanseaBayUniversityHealthBoard

SWANSEA: Thousands of old cancer centre X-rays destroyed — but their silver is heading to the Royal Mint

Thousands of old X-ray films from Swansea’s cancer centre are being destroyed – but not before the silver they contain has been extracted and sold on to the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, where it could end up as Welsh jewellery.

Staff at the South West Wales Cancer Centre at Singleton Hospital teamed up with specialist metal extraction firm Betts to recover silver from more than 8,000 X-ray films that had passed their retention period and were due for destruction.

The process generated a rebate of more than £1,000 for the radiotherapy department.

Anna Iles, interim head of service for radiotherapy, said the films were a legacy of an older era of cancer treatment. “Historically, for radiotherapy treatment we would produce hard copy X-ray films to verify treatment,” she said. “Now it’s all done electronically.”

The films had originally been stored in the radiotherapy department at Singleton, but as the department expanded the space was needed for other uses.

They were moved to an external storage facility in Cardiff – at a cost to the health board.

When Swansea Bay University Health Board later acquired its own storage facility in Llansamlet, space became available at Singleton for the films to be brought back from Cardiff. That repatriation in itself generated a significant saving for the department.

Of the more than 16,000 X-rays held in storage, around half had passed their retention period and could be lawfully destroyed. Rather than simply disposing of them, the team identified that the films contained recoverable silver and linked up with Betts to extract it.

The process required careful sign-off before it could go ahead. “We worked closely with colleagues in information governance to get sign off that we could send the X-rays to Betts, where they extracted the silver and we then got a rebate of more than £1,000,” said Iles.

The story has an additional Welsh twist. While Betts is based in England, the firm works in partnership with the Royal Mint in Llantrisant – meaning the silver recovered from X-rays taken in Swansea could return to Wales in an entirely new form.

“Betts works in partnership with the Royal Mint, selling the recovered silver, which is then used in the creation of jewellery,” said Iles. “It is quite nice that there is the potential for the silver to come full circle back to Wales.”

The remaining 8,000 or so films that are still within their retention period will continue to be stored until they too can be lawfully destroyed – at which point the same silver extraction process is expected to be repeated.

The South West Wales Cancer Centre provides radiotherapy and oncology services for patients across the Swansea Bay University Health Board area and beyond. It is based at Singleton Hospital on the edge of Swansea Bay.

Swansea Bay University Health Board says the project demonstrates how clinical teams can find creative and sustainable ways to generate savings and reduce waste – while also ensuring sensitive patient information is securely destroyed in the process.

#jewellery #Radiotherapy #RoyalMint #SingletonHospital #SouthWestWalesCancerCentre #SwanseaUniversityHealthBoard #XRay

Dr Sian Williams announced as ambassador for cancer charity Maggie’s

The BBC presenter, who hosts the Radio 4 programme Life Changing and is also a counselling psychologist, has been involved with the cancer care charity for 10 years.

She joins the likes of broadcaster Mark Chapman, Emmerdale star Lisa Riley and recording artist AJ Tracey as Maggie’s marks its 30th year of supporting people with cancer.

The Swansea branch of Maggie’s, located on the grounds of Singleton Hospital, offers free practical, emotional, and social support to anyone living with cancer, as well as their family and friends.

Having opened by then, First Minister Carwyn Jones on December 9, 2011, to address the critical need for holistic cancer support in South West Wales, Maggie’s in Swansea sees approximately 3,000 new cancer diagnoses every year.

Locally, Swansea City Football Club has been associated with Maggie’s as its charitable partner since August 2023, with a campaign titled “Tackling Cancer Together”.

The club chose Maggie’s due to the charity’s direct impact on the local community and the personal experiences of club figures with cancer. 

They launched an eye-catching pink third kit for the 2023–24 season dedicated to the partnership. The design featured coloured spots representing common types of cancer, with £3 from each sale donated to Maggie’s.

Swansea City legends Alan Curtis MBE and Kev Johns MBE have long-standing ties to the charity, serving as ambassadors for the Swansea centre following their own cancer diagnoses.

Dr Sian Williams said: “I am delighted to be asked to become an ambassador for Maggie’s. I know how brilliantly and compassionately they deliver expert and holistic care to those going through cancer and their family and friends.

“I’ve worked at Maggie’s and had a cancer experience too, so I know what an enormous difference that support can make. I am looking forward to working even more closely with the charity to make sure they can reach as many people as possible at what is potentially the hardest time of their lives.”

After many years as a news presenter on the BBC, including on BBC Breakfast, Dr Sian studied for a Master’s Degree in Psychology, followed by a Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology. 

During her training as a counselling psychologist, she undertook a placement at Maggie’s West London at Charing Cross Hospital, where she spent 18 months facilitating support groups and delivering one-to-one therapy. 

Since then, Dr Sian has, amongst other things, spoken at a carol concert to raise funds for Maggie’s, hosted a panel discussion on men, cancer and mental health in the Senedd for the charity, and taken part in Maggie’s campaigns to raise awareness of treatment induced crash menopause. 

Dr Sian has personal experience of cancer after being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 50 in 2014. Her treatment included a double mastectomy. The author has since expressed how her experience made her realise what a difference the right support can make. 

Dame Laura Lee DBE, chief executive of Maggie’s, said: “We are so pleased to announce Dr Sian as an ambassador for Maggie’s. As a psychologist and someone with lived experience of cancer, I know she truly understands our support and the needs of our centre visitors.

“We are marking 30 years of transformative cancer care this year  and are more committed than ever to making sure everyone with cancer, and their family and friends, has access to our free expert, practical, emotional and psychological support. It’s wonderful to welcome Dr Sian to the Maggie’s family during our 30th year.” 

Maggie’s has been providing free, expert emotional and practical support for people with cancer for 30 years.

[Lead image: BBC]

#BBC #DrSianWilliams #KevJohns #Maggies #SingletonHospital

‘I told them she was nine months pregnant and she might die’ — Swansea mum gives birth in A&E during cardiac emergency

Alanna Rooke was almost 40 weeks pregnant when she suffered a seizure at her home in Mount Pleasant, Swansea. Her husband Simon called 999 but, fearing she couldn’t wait for an ambulance, drove her straight to Morriston himself.

When she arrived at the emergency department, Alanna was found to be experiencing supraventricular tachycardia — a condition that causes the heart to beat dangerously fast. Her heart was beating at over 200 times a minute, more than twice the normal rate, while her oxygen levels had plummeted to just 80%, well below the safe threshold.

Simon described the terrifying journey to hospital. “I called 999 and probably lost my cool a little bit. I was asked if I could take her pulse but she was shaking so much I couldn’t,” he said. “I told them she was nine months pregnant and she might die. She was on the floor being sick. I was thinking ‘this can’t be happening?’”

Two midwives were urgently summoned from Neath Port Talbot Hospital to assist the ED team. It quickly became clear that Alanna was not only critically ill — she was also in labour.

Midwives Amanda Morgan and Claire Itzstein, and registrar Tom Protheroe, with Alanna, Simon and Franklyn Brooke
(Image: Swansea Bay University Health Board)

Community midwife Amanda Morgan described the moment they realised the full scale of what they were dealing with. “She was very clammy and disorientated and she was acutely unwell,” she said. “We were concerned she would arrest because the heart is under the most strain when the mother is in labour.”

Despite the extraordinary circumstances, baby Franklyn arrived safely, weighing a healthy 8lb 2oz. Community midwife manager Claire Itzstein, who helped deliver him, said it was one of the most challenging situations she had encountered in years of practice. “It was very surreal to be delivering a baby next to a defibrillator,” she said. “We were definitely out of our comfort zone.”

Alanna was treated for the SVT during and after the birth. She says she has no doubt she owes her life to the staff who cared for her. “I didn’t realise how bad I was until I was seen by the doctors,” she said. “I don’t think I would be here without them or the midwives. They were all so professional.”

Babies have not been routinely born at Morriston Hospital for more than 30 years — maternity services moved to Singleton Hospital in 1991. Since then there have been just two unexpected births at Morriston since 2014, with the last one also taking place in the ED eight years ago.

Franklyn was later transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit at Singleton Hospital, where he spent six days before being allowed home with his relieved family.

Director of Midwifery Kathryn Greaves said the birth was a testament to the teamwork between ED and maternity staff. “I will be forever grateful of how the ED staff allowed us to take over and support this wonderful family,” she said. “It made my day to be beside Claire and Amanda who were incredible.”

Alanna has said she had no history of serious heart problems before the episode. “I’d never had any issues with my heart before, apart from the odd palpitation I put down to exercise,” she said. “I blacked out in the car so I don’t remember much, but I was sick and in pain in the house, and my chest was tight.”

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#AccidentAndEmergency #EmergencyDepartment #maternity #midwifery #MorristonHospital #MountPleasant #SingletonHospital #Swansea #SwanseaBayUniversityHealthBoard

MOTORISTS WARNED: Three months of lane closures on Mumbles Road for gas pipe upgrade

Motorists are being warned to expect delays as a major gas pipe upgrade is set to begin on Mumbles Road next week, bringing with it three months of phased lane closures.

Wales & West Utilities will start work on 4 March to replace over 1,000 metres of gas pipes in the area, a project described as “vital to ensuring gas continues to flow safely and reliably to homes and businesses.”

The work, which is scheduled to finish in June, has been planned in conjunction with Swansea Council to minimise disruption. While access will be maintained at all times and traffic will still be able to travel in all directions, lane closures will be in place and motorists are advised to allow extra travel time.

Crucially, the project has been planned to avoid working on Mumbles Road itself during the busy Easter school holidays.

The work will be carried out in three phases:

•Phase 1: Mumbles Road at the junction with Sketty Lane (4 – 27 March)

•Phase 2: Mill Lane (30 March – 10 April)

•Phase 3: Mumbles Road at the junction of Mill Lane (13 April – 15 June)

Wales & West Utilities’ Adam Smith, who is managing the work, said the project was essential for the community.

“We know that working in areas like this is not ideal, but it is essential to make sure we keep the gas flowing to homes and businesses in the area, and to make sure the gas network is fit for the future,” he said.

“While most of the gas network is underground and out of sight, it plays a central role in the daily lives of this community. Whether it’s heating your home, making the family dinner, or having a hot bath, we understand how important it is for your gas supply to be safe and reliable and there when you need it.”

He added that the work would also ensure the network is ready to transport green gases in the future.

#gasNetwork #gasPipeUpgrade #motoring #Mumbles #MumblesRoad #roadworks #SingletonHospital #Sketty #SkettyLane #Swansea #SwanseaCouncil #SwanseaUniversity #traffic #WalesWestUtilities #WalesAndWestUtilities

Swansea Bay doctors pioneer cancer drug breakthrough that could extend lives across Wales

Medics at Swansea Bay University Health Board have discovered that by using genetic testing to identify a specific protein in patients’ blood, they can determine when to reintroduce the drug Panitumumab at a different stage in treatment, significantly extending life expectancy.

The breakthrough involves using a medical testing protocol called “re-challenge”, where the medication is administered, withdrawn and then given again at a different point in the patient’s care pathway.

Consultant oncologist Dr Craig Barrington said the approach is believed to be unique globally.

“We are not aware of any other country having this option for re-challenge, guided by genetic testing,” Dr Barrington said. “It is another exciting option for Welsh patients.

“We predict there’s going to be about 30 to 50 patients in Wales a year that may well get additional benefit from the use of this drug.”

Panitumumab is used to treat patients with metastatic and incurable left-sided colon cancer. The drug is not suitable for all patients, working only on those who have intact proteins rather than mutated ones.

Swansea Bay has been offering the drug for the past couple of years through the One Wales Medicines process, which provides access to treatments outside current marketing authorisation or licensing and prior to approval by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Panitumumab received One Wales approval last June.

The consultants reassessed the drug’s use following a trial involving a test that looks for a specific DNA tumour protein in the blood. This test identified patients who could potentially benefit from re-challenge with Panitumumab, with a subsequent study confirming the effectiveness of the approach.

Dr Barrington explained that the drug works on approximately 50 per cent of patients from the beginning of cancer treatment. However, about 30 per cent of those exposed to it develop mutations, meaning reintroducing the drug would not provide any benefit for them.

“This drug works on patients if they have intact proteins. If proteins are mutated it won’t work,” he said.

One patient who benefited from the pioneering approach was Wyn Thomas from Gower, a former medical physicist who was 74 when he was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in September 2021.

Although Mr Thomas has since died, the drug gave him months of precious extra time with his family before he passed away in March 2025 at the age of 76.

His wife Liz said the family had not expected him to have much time when he received his diagnosis.

“He was asked if he wanted to consider whether he wanted quality or longevity of life left, he said he wanted to live as long as he could,” Mrs Thomas said. “But he ended up with a good quality of life. He never gave up and was very determined.”

She described how her husband maintained an active life throughout much of his treatment.

“Throughout the summer of 2024 he was really good; he was out and about, cutting the grass, and at Christmas he was stuffing the turkey and carrying logs,” she said.

“We knew it would not last forever, and last January he complained of a pain in the knee, and he died in March. He only had about four or six weeks when he was desperately ill.”

Dr Barrington said he was convinced Panitumumab had extended Mr Thomas’s life significantly.

“When he first started cancer treatment, with what was available we think he would have had about two to two-and-a-half years, but he survived for three-and-a-half, so he outlived our prediction,” he said.

“There is no doubt in my mind that is because of the medication. Without it, it would have been half the time.

“Not only did we see that in the length of time since he commenced taking Panitumumab, but we also saw it on scans and the blood tests and how well he was responding to it.”

Wyn Thomas, second from right, with sons Morgan, brother and composer Mark Thomas, cousin Stuart Hocknell, and son Lewys
(Image: Swansea Bay University Health Board)

Mr Thomas was the brother of Bafta-winning Twin Town composer Mark Thomas, who also created music for Wallace and Gromit animations. Mark died following his own cancer battle in 2023.

Even during his treatment, Wyn continued to run his brother’s record label, collecting royalties and distributing them to musicians.

Mrs Thomas praised the care her husband received at Singleton Hospital.

“We tried everything for him, and he was alright for three-and-a-half years,” she said. “Everyone who supported him at Singleton was absolutely brilliant.”

As with other drugs accessed through the One Wales Medicines process, patients are given full explanations about how Panitumumab has been accessed and are talked through current data and evidence before beginning treatment.

#Cancer #CancerTreatment #drugTesting #NationalInstituteForHealthAndCareExcellence #NICE #oncologist #oncology #Panitumumab #SingletonHospital #Swansea #SwanseaBayUniversityHealthBoard

£150m sport and health superhub breaks ground at Sketty Lane

Diggers rolled onto the site this week as construction started on the National Institute for Sport and Health (NISH), a four‑storey landmark rising beside the Wales National Pool and directly opposite Singleton Hospital. The university says the location is no accident — the aim is to bring researchers, clinicians, athletes and industry specialists together in one place, with the hospital and sports facilities just steps away.

The project is being delivered for Swansea University and funded through the Swansea Bay City Deal, with support from Swansea Council and local health boards. Pick Everard is managing the scheme, working with architects Powell Dobson and main contractor Willmott Dixon.

Night‑time view of the planned sport and health superhub at Sketty Lane, with the building illuminated in the final design concept.
(Image: Powell Dobson)

Gareth Taylor, Principal Project Manager at Pick Everard, said the team has been shaping the project from the earliest stages. “Being involved from the early stages has given us a real understanding of how the building needs to operate, both now and in the future,” he said. “With the potential to make a genuine impact on health, sport and technology, delivering a project of this scale requires close collaboration across the full project team.”

Swansea University describes the institute as the first facility of its kind in the UK — a place where new sports technology, medical devices and health innovations can be developed, tested and scaled without leaving the region.

Professor Keith Lloyd, NISH Director, said the development will help put Swansea “on the global map” for research and innovation. “It will serve as a catalyst for discovery, investment, and improved wellbeing,” he said.

Inside, the building will house teaching rooms, media studios, sports technology labs, collaborative workspaces and demonstration areas. The university says it will act as the anchor for a wider Science and Innovation Park planned for the Sketty Lane site, creating a real‑world environment where ideas can move quickly from concept to testing.

Project leaders say the development will create more than 1,000 jobs in the Swansea area and contribute over £150 million to the regional economy by 2033.

#construction #NationalInstituteForSportAndHealth #NISH #PickEverard #PowellDobsonArchitects #SingletonHospital #SkettyLane #sport #Swansea #SwanseaBayCityDeal #SwanseaBayUniversityHealthBoard #SwanseaCouncil #SwanseaUniversity #WalesNationalPool #WillmottDixon

Swansea Bay hospitals full as health board urges families to take loved ones home

Swansea Bay’s three main hospitals — Morriston Hospital, Singleton Hospital and Neath Port Talbot Hospital — have declared a Business Continuity Incident, the Health Board’s highest level of escalation. The Health Board says wards across all sites are now full, with bed pressures reaching critical levels.

The Health Board says staff are working urgently to discharge patients who have completed their treatment, but delays in community services are slowing the process and creating a backlog for patients waiting for a bed.

Families asked to help free up beds

The Health Board says the situation has become so pressured that families’ support is now essential to help free up space.

A Swansea Bay University Health Board spokesperson said:

“If you have a loved one who has completed their treatment and they’ve been told they can leave hospital, please do everything you can to support their discharge.

By providing this vital support you’ll not only be helping us to provide timely care to those patients who are waiting for a bed, but you’ll be helping your loved one to recover better.”

Why staying in hospital too long can harm recovery

The Health Board says remaining in hospital after treatment is complete can slow recovery, weaken muscles, increase the risk of infection and affect mental wellbeing.

A Swansea Bay University Health Board spokesperson said:

“Hospital is the best place to be for anyone needing acute care following a serious illness, injury or surgery.

But once treatment is complete, returning home as soon as possible helps people feel more like themselves.”

Staff working to manage the pressure

The Health Board says its teams across Swansea Bay’s hospitals and community services are “pulling out all the stops” to manage the pressure, but the situation remains extremely challenging.

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#bedPressures #BusinessContinuityIncident #dischargeDelays #featured #MorristonHospital #NeathPortTalbot #NeathPortTalbotHospital #NHSWales #SingletonHospital #Swansea #SwanseaBayUniversityHealthBoard

New location for blood tests in Singleton Hospital

The new location is adjacent to the main outpatients department, eye clinics, and pre-assessment department at the front of the hospital. It is also near to the main patient car park and the bus stop and benefits from its own entrance and reception area.

Phlebotomy Service Manager, Adell Owen-Goddard said:

“The decision to move was driven by several key factors, with the main one being accessibility challenges.

“The historic location posed difficulties for patients with mobility issues, had limited parking and outdated infrastructure.

“Our valued volunteers will be on hand to help with any queries during the early weeks and our experienced teams will provide the best care.

“We thank our service users at Singleton for their patience during the transitional period of moving a key service from the pathology block. It will now be situated appropriately with other key outpatient services at our front door.”

The new clinic space will be in use from Monday, 22nd December 2025.

There will be no disruption to pre-booked appointments. If you have an appointment please attend via the main entrance and you will be directed appropriately.

[Lead image: Swansea Bay University Health Board]

#bloodTest #featured #SingletonHospital