THE already cramped Royal Gwent Hospital site is set to host another building project, but health bosses are confident it will not reduce the limited car parking available.

Plans for a proposed extension to the hospital, to house a new minor injuries unit as part of a major revamp of the emergency department, show that a section of grassed bank between the hospital’s front car park and the existing facade of D Block will be built upon.

Health board members approved a business justification case for that revamp last month, a project considered vital if the department is to be made fit for the purpose of delivering 21st-century emergency healthcare, which recent reports have concluded is currently not the case.

The proposed extension and new emergency department layout will involve ‘walking wounded’ patients entering the hospital through the old A&E entrance, which has not been used since the current minor injuries unit, in the demountable building, was opened almost 10 years ago.

They would then be accompanied into the minor injuries unit, which will be housed in the new extension.

The existing ambulance patients’ entrance will continue to be used for patients arriving by ambulance and/or requiring emergency treatment.

The new extension will enable easier communication between the minors and emergencies areas for patients and staff.

The extension and the new layout will cost £3.4m, which a recent health board report acknowledges is significant, while stressing that the work is urgently needed.

The current emergency department does not meet recommended guidelines, and concerns and complaints have been raised by bodies such as Healthcare Inspectorate Wales and Aneurin Bevan Community Health Council — Gwent’s independent health watchdog — and by patients and staff.

There is likely to be disruption to the front car park at the Royal Gwent while the extension is built, and subject to funding approval, work is likely to begin early next year, as the health board wants it to be completed by next September.