CONSTRUCTION work on a hospital's £2.3m hybrid theatre to support the delivery of vascular services is underway.

An 18-bed vascular ward at Glan Clwyd Hospital is also nearing completion.

Both developments, which will support the new network model for providing vascular care in North Wales, are on course to complete in the Spring.

The hospital is currently in the process of recruiting nurses with experience in vascular care to become part of the service.

Jan Garnett, head of nursing for general surgery at Glan Clwyd, said: “Work is progressing really well on the development of the vascular ward.

"The new ward will provide an opportunity for us to offer dedicated training and mentorship to a nursing team which will help us modernise the way vascular services are provided in North Wales.

"It will be a fitting home for a team of nurses to develop an exciting new service.”

Jan Garnett, head of nursing for general surgery at Glan Clwyd, and hospital medical director Emma Hosking, visit the new ward and site where the vascular theatre is under development

The ward development is one of the final milestones in the redevelopment of the wider Bodelwyddan hospital site.

The new hybrid theatre will allow a full range of vascular procedures to be carried out in a single room. It will be equipped with the latest medical imaging devices, meaning theatre and radiology staff can work together, with patients benefiting from imaging and minimally invasive surgical procedures at the same time and in the same place.

It will also meet the latest working and infection prevention standards, and provide a dedicated resource for caring for the most seriously ill vascular patients from across North Wales.

Dr Evan Moore, executive medical director for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “The investment in a hybrid theatre will give us the best facilities possible to care for patients from across North Wales in need of complex vascular surgery.

"Developing both the theatre and the dedicated vascular ward at Glan Clwyd Hospital, will also support the training of specialist vascular staff, contributing to a robust, sustainable service for North Wales residents."

The new ward will be located adjacent to the hybrid theatre, and co-located near to existing surgical wards at the hospital, improving the opportunity for shared learning between relevant specialties.

The theatre development has been supported by a legacy of £500,000 from the Livsey Trust, set up in memory of former Rhos-on-Sea residents Robert and Flora Livsey.

The network model for vascular surgery was recommended in an invited review by the Royal College of Surgeons, and follows best practice across the UK.