Health board approves new £9.9m challenging behaviour unit

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

Health chiefs have advanced plans for a new unit for people with challenging behaviour.

The facility could replace an existing building in Swansea whose condition was said to have shocked an independent review team.

The proposed £9.9 million unit will replace the existing Dan Y Deri bungalow in Morriston, subject to funding from the Welsh Government.

Swansea Bay University Health Board members have approved a business case for the unit and hope to complete it in 2027 after demolishing the current building.

Self-contained flats

The replacement would comprise five modern, self-contained flats – each with an en suite bedroom, shower, lounge and courtyard – and accommodate people with complex learning disabilities who present challenging behaviour.

The existing five-bedroom bungalow was built in 2004 and concerns have been raised about its condition.

A health board report said a review of all learning disability inpatient settings in Wales took place in 2023 and that the review team was, according to informal feedback, “shocked by the quality and condition” of the Dan Y Deri facilities.

“Their concerns highlighted issues with the layout and design, as well as the décor and damage that require repair,” it said. “In some cases, the reviewers questioned whether individuals with learning disabilities were receiving a valuable service as a consequence of the environment.”

Safety concerns

It added: “Since then, the condition of the facility has deteriorated, and it has been closed indefinitely due to safety concerns and being deemed unfit for purpose.”

People it cared for were transferred to other facilities, or have been looked after at independent hospitals or private care settings which can be further away from family and support networks. The review was carried out by the NHS Wales quality assurance improvement service.

The replacement unit is expected to cost £2 million per year to staff – a fraction lower than what it used to be – and look after people on a short to medium-term basis.

The report said demand for learning disability services was increasing in Wales, partly due to a rise in premature babies who were now reaching adulthood and had significant learning disability needs. It added that as a result of improved health and social care services people with learning disabilities were living longer and needed support to lead fulfilling and healthy lives.

The health board considered four options regarding Dan Y Deri and selected the five-bedroom option rather than a larger six-bedroom one due to the latter’s higher cost and the site’s physical constraints.

One of the five bedrooms will be bigger than the others to cater for obese individuals because, according to the report, people with learning disabilities were more likely to have problems with their weight.

Speaking at a health board meeting, independent member Jackie Davies described the proposed Dan Y Deri unit as “really good news” but wondered if the six-bedroom option would be better.

“Are we doing the right thing in terms of the future demands that we know are going to be there for the service?” she said.

Finance director Darren Griffiths said the health board also provided specialist adult learning disability services for two other health boards – Cardiff and Vale, and Cwm Taf Morgannwg – and that it would look at this wider demand and what the appropriate accommodation should be. He added that the replacement Dan Y Deri unit already had planning permission.