Work has begun on Withybush Hospital's new state-of-the-art £8.75m Emergency and Urgent Care Centre. Construction has initially started on the new ambulance entrance and the main construction work will commence in June 2008. The new centre is one of the first of its type in Wales to offer emergency, urgent care and social services under one roof and will put Pembrokeshire at the forefront of service development across Wales in line with the planned all-Wales Delivering Emergency Care Strategy. Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust is one of the first Trusts in Wales to implement this strategy. Said the acting chief executive of the Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust Caroline Oakley: "Construction of this new facility follows hot on the heels of the opening of our MRI scanner in November and is the next step in delivering £39m worth of improvements at Withybush Hospital. Our four year investment plan includes two new theatres and better inpatient rooms, up to half of which will be single en-suite rooms. It really is fantastic to see construction begin on what really will be a state-of-the art Emergency and Urgent Care Centre for Pembrokeshire." The new facility will more than quadruple the size of the current A&E and will include: An emergency care centre able to treat up to 50,000 patients every year. An adult clinical decision unit with 17 en-suite assessment rooms and two treatment rooms A new four-bay state-of-the-art resuscitation centre Eight 'see and treat' rooms for patients with minor ailments or injuries A dedicated gynaecology room Its own X-ray facilities A separate waiting and treatment area for children In addition, there will be two new clean air theatres constructed above the new building and a bigger ambulance entrance will service up to four ambulances simultaneously. As construction progresses, the existing A&E service will temporarily relocate to the old outpatients department which, due to its larger size, will also help to improve access and reduce waiting times. The development is being led by Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust in partnership with Pembrokeshire Local Health Board, Pembrokeshire County Council, Welsh Ambulance Trust, Pembrokeshire Community Health Council and Welsh Health Estates. Said Pembrokeshire Local Health Board chief executive Bernardine Rees: "We are absolutely delighted that the partnership is delivering on our vision. Agreed as a priority for Pembrokeshire, it is an exciting development which is at the cutting edge of new service models in Wales." Said the director of operations for acute and community Mags Barnaby: "It is very exciting to finally see the transformation of the old A&E department into this new Emergency and Urgent Care Centre which will greatly improve these services for the people of Pembrokeshire."