The Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales () is a

children's hospital A children's hospital (CH) is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults from birth up to until age 18, and through age 21 and older in the United States. In certain special cases, the ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

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

. It is situated on the site of the University Hospital of Wales in the

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

area of the city and is managed by the

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CAVUHB; ) is the local health board of NHS Wales for Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan, in the South-east Wales, south-east of Wales. Formed on 1 October 2009 through the amalgamation of three NHS organisati ...

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, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

. The appeal patrons included Dame Shirley Bassey, who was born in Cardiff, Charlotte Church and

Catherine Zeta-Jones Catherine Zeta-Jones (; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Recognised for her versatility, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed Comm ...

. The first phase, which was designed by Boyes Rees and built by Laing O'Rourke 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 ...

in June 2006. In November 2007

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

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 spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

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 civil rights activist and politician 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 6,026. 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 at a cost of £64 million, was opened by First Minister

Carwyn Jones Carwyn Howell Jones, Baron Jones of Penybont, (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 previously served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 20 ...

in May 2015. New facilities included five operating theatres, the new paediatric intensive care unit, a new hydrotherapy pool, and an "open"

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

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 pa ...

, 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