The Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales ( cy, Ysbyty Arch Noa Plant Cymru) is a

children's hospital A children's hospital is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In certain special cases, they may also treat adults. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It is situated on the site of the

University Hospital of Wales University Hospital of Wales ( cy, Ysbyty Athrofaol Cymru) (UHW), also known as the Heath Hospital, is a major 1,000-bed hospital in the Heath district of Cardiff, Wales. UHW is a teaching hospital of Cardiff University School of Medicine. Constr ...

in the

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

area of the city and is managed by the

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CAVUHB) ( cy, Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Caerdydd a'r Fro) is the local health board of NHS Wales for Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan, in the south-east of Wales. Formed on 1 October 2009 through the amalgama ...

History

The first phase of the hospital was financed by from funds raised by the Noah's Ark Appeal, which had been founded in May 2000, together with some support from the

Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

. The appeal patrons included

Dame Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

, who was born in Cardiff,

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching i ...

and

Catherine Zeta-Jones Catherine Zeta-Jones (; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Known for her versatility, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed C ...

. The first phase, which was designed by Boyes Rees and built by

Laing O'Rourke Laing O'Rourke is a multinational construction company headquartered in Dartford, England. It was founded in 1978 by Ray O'Rourke. It is the largest privately owned construction company in the United Kingdom. History The company was founded by ...

at a cost of £10 million, was officially opened by Catherine Zeta-Jones and

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

in June 2006. In November 2007

Edwina Hart Edwina Hart, MBE (born 26 April 1957) is a Welsh LabourAssemb ...

AM, the

Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Count ...

of Wales, announced that the Welsh Assembly Government would fund that part of the capital costs for the second phase of the hospital which was not already being financed by the three local health boards and Health Commission Wales. In June 2010 the playrooms at the hospital were restocked with new toys by city department store

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

after the

South Wales Echo The ''South Wales Echo'' is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area. It has a circulation of 7,573. Background The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, C ...

reported that the theft of toys threatened a playroom with closure. Zeta-Jones and Douglas returned to the hospital to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the launch of the fundraising campaign in July 2010. Zeta-Jones announced in November 2012 that the hospital would become known as the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales. The second phase of the hospital, which was designed by Boyes Rees and built by

Interserve Interserve is a British construction and support services business based in Reading, Berkshire, which went into administration in 2019 and which is expected to be wound up in 2024. At that time, the group generated revenue of £2.2 billion and h ...

at a cost of £64 million, was opened by First Minister

Carwyn Jones Carwyn Howell Jones (born 21 March 1967) is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the S ...

in May 2015. New facilities included five operating theatres, the new

paediatric intensive care unit A pediatric intensive care unit (also paediatric), usually abbreviated to PICU (), is an area within a hospital specializing in the care of critically ill infants, children, teenagers, and young adults aged 0-21. A PICU is typically directed by ...

, a new hydrotherapy pool, and an "open"

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

scanner. The

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, often referred to as the RCPCH, is the professional body for paediatricians (doctors specialising in child health) in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the postgraduate training of paed ...

, as well as doctors at the hospital, have described the new facilities as "world class". In 2017, a play garden also opened in the second phase building.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Hospital buildings completed in 2005 Charities based in Wales Children's hospitals in the United Kingdom Hospitals in Cardiff Hospitals established in 2005 NHS hospitals in Wales