Staff at Withybush Hospital have bid a fond farewell to the former Accident and Emergency Department, just a few weeks before it is demolished to make way for Pembrokeshire's new state-of-the-art £8.75m Emergency and Urgent Care Centre. Former members of A&E staff joined current employees in a special ceremony to mark the end of the old A&E Department, which has been in use for the last 25 years, and the beginning of construction of this multi-million pound project in July. The new centre is part of a four year plan to deliver £39m worth of improvements at Withybush Hospital. Said Trust chief executive Martin Turner: "This occasion marks the beginning of a new era for emergency and urgent care services in Pembrokeshire. Once constructed, the new facility will be able to treat up to 50,000 patients a year and will have its own adult clinical decision unit, with 19 assessment and treatment rooms, a new resuscitation centre, eight see and treat rooms for patients with minor ailments and its own dedicated gynaecology room, x-ray facilities and treatment area for children. "The result will be a single service that will work together to improve quality of care and the patient's experience of that care and this will put Pembrokeshire at the forefront of patient care developments in Wales." At the event, staff past and present welcomed the new development. A&E consultant Charles Merrill said: "This new centre will provide a better environment for staff and better, safer, quicker services that are appropriate to each patient's needs." Former clinical director of A&E and orthopaedics, Mr. Glan Phillips praised staff who had given a wonderful service to 'the shop window and front line of the hospital,' saying: "I am delighted to welcome this new development, not only for staff but for the people of Pembrokeshire and its visitors." Senior A&E Nurse Ruth Izzard added: "It is very exciting to see this new facility coming." Other speakers included former A&E consultant Naval Captain Geraint Evans, who will soon take command of medical services for the UK armed forces, Trust chairman Mrs. Lynette George, director of nursing for Hywel Dda NHS Trust Caroline Oakley, senior sister Shirleen Hughes and director of operations for acute and community (Pembrokeshire) Mags Barnaby, whose dogged determination was said to have been responsible for securing the funding for the new unit. Associate medical director of Pembrokeshire Local Health Board Dr. Iain Robertson-Steel offered a toast for the £8.75m Emergency and Urgent Care Centre. To allow construction to commence, current A&E services have been temporarily relocated to the former outpatients department. This temporary facility, which will be in use for around 18 months, is accessed via a new entrance to the left of the old one and is clearly signposted. It has been extensively refurbished and will include: • Five individual treatment rooms for patients with minor injuries and ailments • Two 'Out of Hours' doctor's consulting and treatment rooms • Two dedicated waiting rooms for the GP 'Out of Hours' service and minor injury/ailment patients • A new ambulance entrance for emergency patients with access to the existing emergency department resuscitation and treatment rooms • A new 'plaster' room • A children's play area • There will also be allocated drop-off zones for patients, parking zones for emergency vehicles and a limited number of dedicated patient parking spaces. The Out of Hours GP service will also be co-located with Accident and Emergency services, representing the first steps in integrating health, social and voluntary services under the name of Urgent Care Pembrokeshire in line with the all-Wales Delivering Emergency Care Strategy. The development is being led by Hywel Dda NHS Trust in partnership with Pembrokeshire Local Health Board, Pembrokeshire County Council, Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services, Welsh Ambulance Trust, Pembrokeshire Community Health Council and Welsh Health Estates.