DEMOLITION work will be carried out over the next 12 months to continue to transform Swansea's Morriston Hospital.

Bosses at Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board said work had progressed well so far.

A total of £200 million has been ploughed into transforming the Morriston site, with the development of a 488-space car park along with a helicopter pad.

Paul Stauber, director of planning of ABM University Health Board, said: "We are progressing quite vigorously with the capital schemes."

He added that work would be carried out at Morriston Hospital over the next year.

"We will be aggressively demolishing empty buildings."

Under the board's capital programme for the 2010/2011 financial year, a total of £1.5 million has been set aside for extra theatres at the Morriston site and £750,000 is being injected into the modernisation of wards in readiness for the transfer of emergency surgery from Singleton Hospital.

There will also be £75,000 set aside to improve audiology services at Morriston and £600,000 to upgrade Gower ward into a new medical template on-site.

It has also emerged it will cost £500,000 to transfer neuro rehabilitation and neurology from Morriston to Neath Port Talbot Hospital.

And at Singleton Hospital, there will be £1 million ploughed into replacing windows.

A report by Mr Stauber, which went before members of the board at the city's Civic Centre, said: "The health board's capital allocation for 2010/2011 is presently £75.676 million which is split into £10.59 million of Discretionary Capital and £64.699 million of All Wales Capital funding together with the anticipated sales proceeds from properties declared surplus to requirements of £387,000."

A total of £18.5 million has been earmarked for a 60-bed intermediate elderly mental health facility at Swansea's Cefn Coed Hospital.

Further investment of £61,000 will be spent on a detox facility in ward F, at Neath Port Talbot Hospital.

Mr Stauber added: "We have had Assembly approval in terms of a 60-bed unit in Cefn Coed Hospital and also approval for the new primary centre in Pencoed."

ABMU Health Board has submitted a number of business cases to the Assembly for approval, including relocation of the estates department in Morriston along with the provision of a new community mental health facility at Ty Einon in Gorseinon.

elizabeth.perkins@swwmedia.co.uk