Cwm Taf Morgannwg estate in good shape but fire and water safety gaps remain, auditors say

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board runs a newer, better-maintained estate than most of NHS Wales, but gaps in fire safety and water compliance limit how well it manages risk, Audit Wales has found. The review, published on 3 November, says the board has a clear vision and short-term plan for its 148 buildings, strong oversight and good risk management. It makes four recommendations: a fire safety improvement plan, a water safety improvement plan, a finalised estates workforce plan and a better understanding of how the estate affects patients, staff and services.

Newer buildings, lower backlog

The auditors found 92% of the estate meets physical condition standard B, compared with 83% across Wales. Only 10.1% was built before 1948, against 13.5% nationally. The risk-adjusted backlog maintenance bill stood at £75.9m in 2024-25, down 10% on the year before, with £31.2m of it high risk. Clearing high-risk backlog costs £108.91 per square metre of occupied floor, against an all-Wales figure of £164.60. Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend is the costliest main site, at £398.53 per square metre for high-risk backlog.

Money and the Princess of Wales roof

The board received £56.3m of capital for its estate in 2025-26, more than any other NHS body in Wales. That includes £27m for the Prince Charles Hospital refurbishment and £10.3m for a new roof at Princess of Wales Hospital. A further £19.3m supported regional developments, including the Bridgend Health and Wellbeing Centre and the Llantrisant Health Park. Separately, £27.9m approved by the Welsh Government in November 2024 paid for the Princess of Wales roof and other backlog work, completed in August 2025. The report says that removed an immediate safety risk and addressed a fire enforcement notice for the hospital's theatres that had been in place for several years. Backlog issues remain there and across the wider estate because of ageing buildings and limited funding.

Fire and water compliance

The board reports that 98% of occupied floor area meets statutory fire safety standards and 93% of required fire risk assessments are complete. But 3,190 actions from fire risk assessments were outstanding in 2024-25, and the board says it lacks the capacity and resources to manage the volume. A fire enforcement notice issued by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service in 2010 remains in place. The board is addressing it through the Prince Charles Hospital redevelopment, expected to finish by spring 2028. It has received seven informal notices from the fire service since 2025. A January 2026 water safety review found 407 outstanding actions, including 13 high-risk issues. The board has not commissioned an external estates condition survey in the past three years, relying on internal surveys instead.

Staffing pressure

Estates teams face recruitment difficulties and high absence. The vacancy rate in estates was 10.2% at the end of March 2025, below the all-Wales 11.6%, but sickness absence was 8.5%, against 6.6% across Wales. The report says further action is needed to close capacity and capability gaps.